Beyond the line of duty
by Jesus saved even me
Summary: One shots about what happens to the character before, during, and after the books. Open for suggestions!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first Fanfiction so sorry I am sorry that if it is awful. If you have tips or suggestions for more chapters please let me know. So without further adue**

 **Disclaimer: sadly I do not own Fablehaven or it characters**

 **Chapter 1 : Nightmare Comfort**

Bracken sat straight up in the bed,grabbing his sword, at the sound of his wifes terrified scream. His eyes darted to her and his heat broke at what he saw. Kendra was writhing and thrashing ,tears pouring down her beautiful face. Bracken quickly set his sword aside and moved to gently shake Kendra's shoulders.

" Kendra! Wake up love! It's only a dream!.Come on sweetheart wake up!.Kendra your safe! " Bracken said trying to wake his distressed wife she screamed again and called out for him. He continued his efforts in waking her, resorting to wrapping her in his arms tightly,to stop the thrashing. After a few more minutes trying to wake her,seeming to get no response, Kendra sat straight up in the bed struggling against his grip. Bracken wasted no time pulling the struggling girl into his lap and holding her tight. This only made Kendra sob harder. She seemed to still be in the haze of the dream.

" Kendra, it's me, calm down, it's Bracken! " Kendra seemed to realize who was holding her and threw her arms around him. He pulled her closer as sobs racked her slight frame. Bracken rocked her back and forth and sent waves of calm through there contact.

" Shhhh, princess. I've got you. Nothing can hurt you now. Shhh. " he whispered gently into her ear.

"I-It f-felt so r-real."Kendra said inbetween sobs.

" But it wasnt. Dreams are just something you make up when your asleep. Even if it's based off a memory, it didn't end that way and it's not happening now. Right now we are together in our house completely safe. "

"But.."

" Shhhhh , sweetheart, just relax. "

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Slowly Kendra's breathing calmed and her heart rate returned to normal. The sobs turning into a small sniffle every so often.

" Do you want to talk about it? " Bracken asked gently. He felt Kendra shake her head somewhat violently. " then we won't. " he continued to rock her in silence. Before long he could sense sleep beginning to take hold of his wife once more. He slowly laid down on the bed, still holding Kendra tight. He smiled lovingly when he felt her snuggle closer. He began to hum softly

" I love you. " Kendra mumbled almost incoherent,he new he would lose her to sleep very soon.

"I love you too princess." He said quietly before continuing to hum. Moments later Kendra was asleep. Bracken quickly followed.

 **Tada! My first fanfic! Please review with feedback and requests!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is for Wolf lover 27 thank you for your continued support! And thanks for your suggestion. This is during the 5th book when Bracken is talking to Kendra on the beach! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fablehaven**

 **Chapter 2: Afraid to trust**

Bracken sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, they were driving to the spot where Patton's map led. Bracken reflected back to the conversation with the blix. She had some nerve! But as much as Bracken wanted to be angry and blame her, he still felt guilty. He had lied about what he felt and his words had obviously cut deeply into Kendra. They were lies, all of them. Words that slipped from his mouth. He hadn't thought about what they meant or who they would hurt until after he said them. He hadn't considered that everyone would be watching them. All that has mattered at that moment was getting that blix off his case. His mother had said once that his flaw was that he said things without thinking. He ran his mouth. She had said that he could kill more people with his words, than all the demons in Zzyxx. At the time he hadn't understood what she meant but now, reflecting on the look of hurt on Kendra's face, he did. He may not physically kill them, but his words could leave fatal wounds that would never heal. The car came to a stop and Bracken exited. He noticed Kendra sitting by herself close to the shore line, the waves gently caressing her bare feet. He stood for a moment admiring how beautiful she was in the moonlight. Gathering his courage he decided it was time to make it right. To let her know how he truly felt.

††††

Kendra sat down near the shore and took off her shoes, letting her bare feet feel the waves. She thought about all their adventures. From that first mid summer's eve to now. Becoming fairykind, stopping the shadow plague, Lena, Navarog. Kendra shivered remembering the last one. Her heart ached, she felt unworthy. She knew that she was being silly and naive but Bracken had been the first person to break down the walls she had built up. The first person she had trusted since Navarog. Maybe she had given her trust to easily. It was her own fault after all. Kendra knew she shouldn't ,but she sometimes wondered how much better off they would be if she had been the one to touch the rock to the tree, during the shadow plague. She had never told anyone she felt like this. She knew Warren noticed a difference despite her efforts to hide it. Through her dark thoughts she almost missed the fact that someone had sat down beside her. Expecting it to be Seth or Warren, she was surprised to see Bracken. At the moment, he was the last person she wanted to talk to. She wanted to sit here by herself and think. She was afraid that she would start to cry. Looking into his eyes made a flood of memories rush through her. Threatening to pull her further into the deep darkness she was sinking back to reality she realized that Bracken was talking.

"I'm sorry about Vanessa earlier," he said . " She was trying to lash out at me for embarrassing her. "

He sounded sincere and she wanted to believe him. But why was he apologizing for Vanessa? She understood he was trying to bridge a gap but she wanted to build up her walls and never let them down. Instead of voicing these thoughts she said,

" Don't worry, I get it. " Expecting the conversation to end she was slightly annoyed when Bracken continued. Her annoyance quickly turned to surprise at his words.

" Vanessa wasn't wrong. "

Kendra's head snapped up to meet his gaze. It took all of her not to hope. _He's probably just trying to make you feel better. Your so weak you need someone else to crawl too._ She told herself. That was probably the case why would he like her anyway.

††††

Bracken was worried by Kendra's reaction. He continued, hoping to get a better one.

" I should never have said those things. They weren't true. I got so caught up in not giving her the satisfaction of being right that I didn't realize what I was saying. But none of it is true, I really do like you Kendra. A lot. I understand if you don't feel the same way -"

" No! It's not that. I like you too, but I - I..." Kendra said trailing off.

" You what?" He asked confused. Why would she be acting this way of she likes him?

" I want to trust you, I want to let you in my heart, but I'm afraid to trust again. " she answered ,her voice quiet and unsteady. Like she was fighting back tears. At her words Bracken 's heart broke for her. He saw the distant, disturbed look in her beautiful, green eyes and instantly wanted to pulverize whoever has caused her this much pain. Pushing down his anger for the time being he put a hand on he shoulder.

" Kendra, I don't know what happened, or who hurt you. But I promised , with every ounce of my being, that I will **never** hurt you. I know that sounds cliche right now. I promise I will wait, and when we survive this, I will do everything in my power to help you learn to trust again. " Kendra still hadn't looked at him ,but he could tell his words had hit home. Her next words shocked him, and his anger for whomever had hurt her returned.

" Why? Why would you like me? I'm just a worthless, useless-"

"Stop! You are none of those things! " he put his fingers under her chin and guided her face to look at him. " You are the nicest most beautiful girl I have ever met. You're far from useless, your resourceful, quick on feet, smart. I don't know why you think these things but please believe me. " when he finished the tears in Kendra's eyes spilled over and traces down her gorgeous face. For a moment he was afraid he had done something, but Kendra threw her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back tightly.

" that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. " she said quietly.

" Then people in the mortal world must be blind. " He relied slightly surprised

Kendra pulled back and wiped her eyes on the backs of her hands.

" Thank you. " she said.

" Any time Kendra. Now maybe part of the trust issue is because we don't know a lot about each other. How about I ask you a question and you ask me one? "

"Okay, you go first." She answered

" Alright, ummm. Oh I got one, what is your favorite vacation memory. "

" I have never technically been on a vacation. "

"Are you serious?'

" Yes, my parents think vacation time is better without me and Seth. "

" Well then. Alright well in May not have known your brother long, but I am slightly surprised he hasn't snuck off to go with them. " He said jokingly. Kendra broke out laughing

" You sure have Seth down pat! " she said between laughs. Bracken joined her. He decided that her laugh was the most beautiful sound in the world. He promised himself right there sitting on a beach, that he would strive to help her and make her laugh , for as long as they both lived.

††††

As Kendra laughed for the first time in a long time she realized that while she wasn't ok, she sure was a lot better. Maybe things would be better in the end.

††††

Vanessa looked over as she heard Kendra laugh. It had been way too long since she had heard that. Maybe the Unicorn wasn't so bad after all.

 **I hope this was decent! It turned out different than even I expected it to. Please review and give me suggestions for further chapters. also remember that this was a dark time for Kendra. She had been betrayed by a lot of people and felt a lot of is going to need a little time to trust people fully. I may express this further in the future if people want it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is based off my own headcanon that Kendra and Seth have an older brother that joined the army shortly after finding the magic world. He was 13 years older than Kendra and 15 years older than Seth. So enjoy my headcanon and fluff ( I love fluff!) . This is WAY after dragonwatch and i am pretending the fairy king woke up later than the book says**

 **Chapter 3: Never underestimate family**

October was a hard month for Kendra Sorenson **.** I mean sure Halloween was fun, but it was also the month her brother left. Kendra's brother Jason Sorenson had been 13 when she was born. She was 5 when he was deployed in the army. To say they had been close was an understatement. Kendra remembered days of running to him when he got home. Her mom would say she would go to him more then she would them. He had written at first,but the letters became fewer and fewer, until they just stopped. Kendra wished upon wished that she could talk to him again and know that he was okay. Now at 22 years old Kendra missed him more than ever. There was a special day approaching, something she wanted him to be there for. At the end of this month Kendra would be getting married. Bracken had asked to date her on her 18th birthday. After almost losing her to fatal wounds _ **( if you want a one shot on this let me know.)**_ he had decided that he didn't want to waste any more time. They had dated for 4 years and 2 months ago he had asked her to marry him **(** _ **again if you want the details you have to tell me.)**_ As of the magic it heal her wounds, Kendra was now closer to a unicorn than a mortal. She looked 18, her long Brown hair was now mostly blond, ears slightly pointed, and had eyes that changed with her mood. She sat now in one of the many the pond. Where she always went to think. Thinking now at where her brother could be. would he look the same? Would he still devour all food in sight? Her parents had long since the conclusion that he had died, and Kendra sometimes wondered if they where right. She had to face the fact that he most likely wouldn't be here. Letting the only one tear escape her, she stood up and began the trek back to the main house.

††††

Seth, despite popular beliefs , was not oblivious to his sister's recent change in demeanor. The switch from happy to upset. He also was not ignorant as to what caused it.(though he did hunt down a certain unicorn him). After a while he had enough, he didn't remember Jason seeing as he was only 3 when he left. So Seth devised a plan, a perfect one. A fool proof one. Which was why he was standing in the atic. Since he was 20 he has moved into a room on the main floor , making this a perfect hiding place. Seth was tall and slim and had a light scar right under his left cheek bone. He was muscular, and his shadow charming abilities increased his strength. And with a deep voice to accompany this, he could be pretty intimidating. But if you looked into chocolate colored eyes ,you could see the playful mischievous gleam. His hair still Brown and unruly. He stood in the far corner holding a communication coin and talking to the Unicorn.

" You just do your part, and I'll do mine ok? "Seth said

 _Are you sure this is going to work seth? He may not come with you._

" Oh he will come, if I have to drag him here, just send the fairies. "

 _Have you told you grandfather about this plan._

" what do you think? Look just find him first , then I'll talk to grandpa. Look i hear Kenzy, so I am going to go"

Seth quickly dropped the connection before Bracken could ask any more questions about his grandfather knowledge. He was 20 he could accomplish this himself. He just hoped the fairies could find Jason in 2 weeks.

††††

Jason Sorenson walked around the army base. He was 35 years old and has sandy hair and chocolate eyes. He had left home at 18 and hadn't been back since. It was funny the reason he couldn't go back was the reason for all this mess any way. The reason why he left has a bit of a back story, he had found the magic world at 15, which is a different story entirely, when his mom had his brother. His grandfather had told him that his parents didn't know about the magic world. Jason wanted to explore it. When is parents took him back he found that all he could focus on was finding out more. His grades fell and he was distant with his friends. He could focus on nothing but the future. Suddenly he looked up and found his straight A's where now mostly C's. His friends had moved on, his sister was in kindergarten and he had a little brother. He suddenly didn't know what to do with his life. Pride and fear kept him from going to his parents. How could he explain it anyway? ' _hey mom, dad my grades are awful and I don't know what to do with my life anymore. But here's the reasons I found the magic world and have had an obsession with it, so help please?'_ Definitely not. So he had joined the army and resolved to forget the magic world existed. And now, pride and fear where what was keeping him away from home. How would he face his parents and his sister. Kendra. If there was something he regretted most it was missing out on Kendra's life. They had been so close until he had let other things consume him. He heard a gasp not far away and pulled himself back to the present. He quickly found what had caused the reaction. A group of brightly colored butterflies where flying through the base. He knew these couldn't be normal butterflies. He might not have any assistance but this was not a normal occurrence. His suspicion was confirmed when the butterflies fluttered around him before flying off. Who would send fairies after him? And why? The commotion was settling down so Jason decided to act normal. It was probably nothing.

††††

Bracken was walking through the halls of the fairy castle to meet his father for lunch. His father had been ecstatic when he had awoken to find out his son was engaged. Though at first he want to thrilled that it was a handmaiden. Bracken had brought Kendra to the fairy realm to meet him and he had instantly fallen for her. He saw her as his daughter already. They where meeting today to finalize things and just talk. The wedding was in 3 days so the pressure to make sure everything was ready was truly on. Despite this Bracken made sure to talk to Kendra in some way , form, or fashion, every night. Just thinking of his beautiful fiancee brought a smile to his face. Beautiful smile, bright ,sparkling green eyes. Bracken was pulled from his thoughts by the fact that a group of fairies came rushing up to him. Immediately fearing the worst his hand drifted to the hilt of his sword. The leader of the group, an elegant fairy with electric blue hair and a pink dress that slowly faded to white, said

" Your Highness, we have found the man you requested. Jason Sorenson is on an army base in Chattanooga Tennessee North America. "

Bracken relaxed and said thank you be before reaching out to Seth using the communication coin. He wasn't too worried about telling him now though because he would be eating dinner there, as he usually did. Rushing off to meet his dad Bracken couldn't help but wonder what Seth Sorenson had planned this time.

††††

Seth was restless all through dinner. Not that this was new, ADHD , but especially tonight. Bracken had said that he had found some information and would tell him in .dinner. It was for this reason that Seth was shadewalking just outside the house as the unicorn told his sister goodnight. He smiled.a where good together, not that he'd ever admit that. As much as he hated the mushy , gushy stuff, Bracken made Kendra happy and that was good enough for him. Again not that he would ever admit this to anyone. His wondering thoughts where interrupted by the door of the house closing indicating that had gone inside. Stepping out of the shadows he approached Bracken.

"So, what do you got for me?" Seth asked running his hands together.

" They found him on an army base in Chattanooga Tennessee. "

" Awesome! Now the problem is finding a way to . Without Kendra getting suspicious. "

" Who knows about this?"

"Vanessa and Warren. They are going to keep her busy so she has less time to think about it. "

" What about -"

" I wanted it to be a surprise for the others as much as Kendra. "

"Alright then." They both fell silent thinking about excuses and ways of transportation . Suddenly Brackens face lot up.

"We can use Astrids to get there. As for excuses that's more your area of expertise." He said. Ending with a hint at Seth's mischievous nature and knack for coming up with clever excuses. And I'm fact after. more of thinking Seth with one.

" I've got it! So we use the Astids. You come in and act worried. Find me and we'll kind of speak in private for . The story will be there that you have gotten word of an assassin and need the help of an shadow charmer to save the day. Being the overprotective person you are when Kendra inevitably tries to come along as backup, you tell her no. Do the gushy stuff you do , telling her you love her and don't want her hurt or whatever. Then Warren and Vanessa step in and take her to do whatever there doing. We go get Jason, bring him back, and surprise Kendra. " Seth says taking a breath. He looks expectantly at the unicorn. For a moment all Bracken does is stare are him, then he drops his head into one of his hands and shakes his head. Seth is confused , going back over the plan he doesn't see where he missed anything. He's about to voice this when Bracken looks up at him with a his face.

" You 're not right" he says jokingly.

" Dude , you've known me for 7 years and your just now figuring that out? Are you in or not. " Seth asked. Quiet proud of his plan . He got to both scare and surprise his older sister!

" I'm in. " Bracken said. Seth did an evil laugh and said

" Welcome to the dark side my friend, we've been expecting you. " Bracken once again stated at Seth for a moment before shaking his head turning his head and walking back into the woods.

††††

Bracken walked into the yard three Astids trailing behind him. He stopped for a moment trying to make himself seem extremely worried. He was a really good actor when he wanted to be. His biggest challenge would be not breaking when he sees Kendra worried. he hated it when she worried about stuff. He started to Sprint into the main house trying to seem urgent. He almost ran into Kendra. He decided to and start putting this plan, that Seth's twisted little mind had came up with, into action.

" Hey Bracken! " said Kendra happily smiling her shining smile. Braden grabs her shoulders and looks her up and down worried as if searching for injuries. He feels a pang of guilt as her bright smile fades into a worried expression. Still, remembering the outcome , he continues.

" Are you ok? Your not hurt anything? " he ask trying to sound .

" No why? " she said breathing quickening slightly as she looks fearfully at the woods. Bracken immediately enveloped her in a quick hug before pulling back and saying,

" No , it's ok ,I'm not running from anything. "

" what's going on? " she asked sounding beyond worried. Keeping himself steady in his role he tried to look indecisive before replying,

" Where's Seth? "

"Bracken why won't you answer my question? What's going on?" Bracken placed a kiss on Kendra's forehead. When he pulled back his resolve almost broke at the sight of Kendra's eyes brimmed with frightened tears.

" I'll explain later, love. Right now I need to talk to Seth, is he inside? " Bracken said gently already knowing the answer. She nodded and he quickly rushed into the house, determined that this was the last time he Seth with any of his plans.

††††

Seth watched in shock at how good Bracken was at convincing Kendra he was worried. He began his own role as the unicorn entered the house. Pretending he knew nothing about this, he let a smile fade as he walked toward him worried.

" Hey man, what's up? What's this all about. "

" Seth! Just the person I was looking for ! Can we talk in private? " Bracken asked continuing the skit.

" Yah of course come on. "

" Bracken what is this all about?" Grandpa Sorensen asked entering the the commotion.

" I'll explain later. " He said in the same time he had used with Kendra.

Seth ducked into one of the many guest bedrooms in the house and heard Bracken close the door behind him.

" Dude! That was awesome , everyone is genuinely worried! " Seth praised. His smile fades when he found the unicorn glaring at him. " what? "

" This is the last time I am doing anything like this. " He said.

" Oh, is this about Kens being worried? Don't think about it. She'll drop it once Warren and Vanessa start. " Seth answered rolling his eyes. Bracken didn't look convinced ,but he did drop the subject. After going over the plan and waiting a few more minutes, they left the room both looking grim and concerned.

All of the family had gathered in the living room, as Seth had knew they would. They all have them there attention and waited for someone to explain what was going on. They had previously decided that it should be Bracken that explained since he came looking for Seth.

" I caught word of an assassin, he is headed this way, I need Seth to help me take him down. The fairies have tracked him to Chattanooga Tennessee. " Bracken said grimly.

" The plan is to go and stop him before he can get here. If everything goes well we should be back by tonight. " Seth finished.

" Who are they after? " Grandpa Sorensen asked fearing the answer.

" Kendra. " Bracken said. " the reason I only want me and Seth is for this a smaller team will be better. Along with the fact that his power as a shadow charmer could come in handy. "

After several more questions the group finally dispersed. Seth was standing by one of the Astrids while Bracken said goodbye to Kendra for like the thousandth time,in his opinion anyway. Seth thought the unicorn was laying it on kind of thick , seeing as they weren't actually going to be in danger. Finally Kendra went in side and the Astrids took off. Seth could hardly contain his excitement now. His plan was working perfectly, he was going to see his brother, and surprise his sister.

††††

Jason was sitting on his bunk resting when a one of the commanders came in looking for him. The man was named Mark. Mark was about 40 years old, he was short but muscular. His hair was black but streaked with grey.

" Sorenson, there's a man here to see you, says he's a family friend. " Mark said in his deep, rough voice. Jason thought for a moment, he didn't know who it was but if he had to guess it would be the one who sent the fairies after him. Jason nodded to the commander and walked out of the room , heading toward the main offices. When he got there he was directed to a room with a closed door. Outside standing not far was a tall slim man, with silvery hair and a muscular build. Thinking this was his visitor he walked to him. When Jason for closer the man gestured to the door indicating that he enter the room. Jason was getting suspicious and was glad he always had a knife in him. Once he entered the silver haired man shut the door behind him. Startled Jason turned toward the door. Missing the fact that he wasn't alone. Jason

" Long time no see , Jason. " said a deep voice. Jason turned around quickly reaching for his knife. For the first time he noticed a tall ,slim,muscular man with dark hair. His muscles made him look as if he lifted weights for a living. He was a head taller that Jason and looking up into dark eyes made the man even scarier. Jason quickly composed himself and said,

" I'm sorry, you'll have to tell me your name. I'm afraid I don't know you. " the man smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

" I didn't think you'd recognize me. I look quite a bit different than I did when I was 3. " when Jason showed no reaction the man sighed and continued, " the name 's Seth. Sent Sorenson. " Jason's eyes widened at the name. This man was his 3 year old brother. Looking into the chocolate eyes , he could now see the mischievous glint in them.

" Seth?! No way! What are you doing here? You look so grown up and ... Intimidating " he said incredulously. Seth laughed.

" Yah I have been told that a few times. As for the reason I'm here, I'm here to take you home. Jason frowned, he couldn't go home. But how was he going to break that to his, not so little, little brother. Who had obviously spend some time looking for him.

" Look, buddy. I appreciate you coming by, but I am afraid your wasting your time. I'm not coming home. " Jason said gently. He gulped as Seth's expression became darker.

" I don't think you understand Jason , you are coming home, whether you come willingly or i have to drag you. " Jason began to protest but Seth continued " and believe me I can do it, being known as one of the protectors and hero's of the magic world is not the easiest job. "

" What?! " Jason said shocked. Not only did his brother know about magic but he was the protector and hero of it. A question rose to mind as he asked. " wait one of them, whose the other? " he watched Seth smirk and reply simply,

"Kendra."

" Both of you know about the magic world? " Jason asked excited . This was amazing! He didn't have to keep it to himself anymore. Seth smiled even wider

" Yep, mom and dad do too. "

" I can't believe this. This is amazing! But why come and find me now? And who was that man with the silver hair outside? "

" Both of those questions go hand in hand. The man out there, his name is Bracken. He is Kendra's fiancee. " Seth paused and chuckled at Jason's shocked expression before continuing" as for why now ,well, She gets married tomorrow and all she wants is for you to be there. "

" Kendra is what?! "

"Getting married tomorrow. Now are you. Coming willingly or not, we need to get going soon, so we can get home before dinner." Jason nodded still processing the information . He followed Seth out and stopped beside the man that was apparently marrying his sister in a matter of hours. He heard Seth tell them to go on , while he found the head of office. He looked at the man, Seth called Bracken, for the first time. He was shocked at the blue orbs and instantly knew he wasn't human. Realizing he was staring he said

" So, your the man marrying my sister. "

" Yah, she's amazing, I can't imagine loving anyone in this earth more than her. " Bracken answered. He seemed genuine. They continued to talk as they reached the edge of the base. Jason was in shock by the time Seth found them. Not only was he talking to unicorn, but the Prince of the fairy realm. His siblings where fairykinds and shadow charmers , demon slayers, Dragon tamers, and just all around awesome. He was amazed when he met the Astrids. As they neared home, he realized that they would have accepted him a long time ago. It was time to make things right.

††††

As worried as Kendra had been that morning, she had little time to think about it the rest of the day. Warren and Vanessa had kept her extremely busy. They started no going after the boys left by helping arrange the flowers. As boring as that sounds, the fairies made it quite interesting. Changing , color, shape, and size with a command. Then they had left Fablehaven and went to pick up supplies for the brownies to make the desserts. They had lunch then came back to Fablehaven. Bradley's sister Petunia had come and brought all the dresses for the bridesmaids, the suits for the groomsmen , and Kendra's dress. She had just finished trying it on and letting Petunia adjust it when , the boys returned. The first thing she did was get up from the couch and run and hug her fiancee. He squeezed her tightly before pulling back and kissing her forehead. the others gathered to welcome them name as well. She then turned to her brother and hugged him before he could make any smart comments. He hugged her back , then pulled away. Kendra noticed that Seth was standing, kind of awkwardly ,in front of the door. Stepping back she looked curiously at him before asking

" How'd it go? Did you get the assassin? " she was confused when Bracken looked away and Seth smirked.

" About that sis, the assassin thing was kind of a story to keep you out of suspicion for the day. "Kendra was shocked. It was a what?! A story! Seth most of noticed her confused and somewhat angry look because he continued quickly. " Before you say anything, before anybody jumps all over me, Kendra close your eyes. "

" What? Why? "

" Just do it. "

" Why? "

" So I can show you why we had to tell a story like that. " Seth said impatiently. Kendra sighed and did as she was told. She heard someone enter the house and a bunch of her family gasp. Resisting the urge to open her eyes, Kendra moved her head towards the sound. Soon she heard a voice she wasn't to ever hear again.

" Kendra, Jason says open your eyes. " her eyes flew open at the name of her brother replaced with the regular Simon says. She stood in shock for a moment taking in his sandy hair and chocolate eyes. His slim strong build . The person she had wanted to see for the longest ti me was standing right in front of me.

††††

Jason watched as Kendra 's eyes flew open at the mention of there old game. A flash of worry went through his mind as she stood in shock. But it was quickly vanquished.

"Jason!" Kendra yelled running at him. He stumbled slightly as her small body hit him full force. He wrapped his arms around her tightly relishing the feeling of being with his sister again. He felt his shirt become wet with her tears. He tried to pull back to look at her but Kendra held to him laughed

" You're not letting me go are you? " he felt her shake her head and he once again wrapped his arms around her. This time he was hugged by his mom and dad as well. After a few minutes more they all pulled back he watched as Kendra walked over to Seth and hugged him, whispering in his ear. She turned to Bracken and did the same thing. Jason was happier than he had ever been. He realized he should've come home long ago. He should have never underestimate family

††††

 **There we go chapter 3! I'm sorry for the wait so here's a loooooong chapter for you. Please review and suggest things for future chapters. I am already working on one that was suggested, but would love more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a suggestion by Wolf lover27. She wanted Bracken and Kendra's first date. This takes place after dragonwatch but Seth and Kendra are still the caretakers of wyrmroost. Kendra is 18.**

 **Chapter 4: Taking a day off**

Kendra ran through the halls of wyrmroost on the way to a meeting with a representative from another preserve. It was 9:00 in the morning and she along with Seth had conversed with 8 dragons, Celebrant, and obtained a summons from the king of the fair folk. Looking at Kendra you would see dark purple bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. Kendra was up doing paperwork until at least one o'clock in the morning. When she did finally lay down and start to sleep, she was plagued with horrible, vivid nightmares. And if that wasn't enough, after tons of magic was used to mend wounds, her own magic was out of control. For example, she had been conversing with a dragon when Seth started to wince, the Dragon soon followed, until neither would look at her. Apparently her aura had become too bright. This has resulted in a massive headache, which was still present, when it had dimmed again. Kendra knew going into this it wouldn't be easy, but who knew it could be this hard. Arriving at her destination, she entered the meeting. She sighed and started to speak. This was going to be a long day indeed.

(Time skip. Still Kendra's POV)

Kendra felt her head hit the table dully. It was now about 7:00 in the night. This was the first time she had any quiet all day. She had just finished talking to some of the creatures of light about gathering data to keep all sanctuaries stable. At the moment the meeting was a blur, as pure exhaustion began to overwhelm her. Through her sleepy haze, she didn't hear the door open or footsteps walk toward her. In fact she didn't know anyone was there until she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She jerked awake, alarmed that she had let her guard down that much. She relaxed a little when she saw silver hair and deep blue eyes laced with worry. Bracken. Bracken had asked to date her nearly a month ago, after she had been wounded. Unfortunately due to both of there busy schedules, they had yet to go on a date. Relieved that it was him, Kendra let her head fall back down. This time, it was caught in one of his hands. She looked up confused, she didn't believe she had anything to do for at least an hour.

"Kendra? When was the last time you slept?" Bracken asked softly. Obviously very concerned. His thumb rubbed one of the bruises under her eyes. Kendra thought for a minute, the last time she had slept nightmare free was about a week and a half ago.

" A week and a half, " she said yawning. She didn't recall it ever being this hard to hold her head up. She judged that with her magic growing added to the lack of sleep, and the times it had acted up, wasn't helping. Her head began to drop again but this time, Bracken guided it so it rested on his chest. Her drowsy mind barely registered the fact that she was now moving. She knew that there was a reason she should wake up but she felt comfortable and secure. Kendra allowed herself to give in to the exhaustion, knowing, that at least for the moment, she was safe..

††††

Bracken walked through the halls of the keep, escorting several important unicorns back to the high road. They would normally do it themselves but under the circumstances, they had thought that being escorted by the fairy Prince might persuade them to help.

"Bracken!" He turned at the sound of his name being called. He squinted slightly and was able to make out the frame of his sister, Mizelle, leader of the warrior fairies. He stopped, allowing her to catch up to him. When she reached him he noticed the slight concern in her eyes.

" Mizelle, is anything wrong? " Bracken asked, walking once more.

" Its Kendra, she seemed kind of out of it. Her aura wasn't as bright as it should be." Mizelle said concerned. Mizelle and Kendra had become close friends and Mizelle wanted to look after her. They had all been worried since Kendra had been injured. Her magic was different, no longer only fairykind. Nothing like that had ever happened so they had no idea what to expect or how she would tolerate it. Bracken stopped walking again to look his older sister in the eyes.

" What do you think it is? " He asked.

"I don't know, I just worried that her magic may be growing too fast or its too much for her body to handle. I know neither of us know beyond the basics of healing but you know more than me. I'll lead the unicorns the rest of the way, you go back." She said leaving no room for arguments. Bracken nodded and quickly ran back to the keep. It didn't take long. Once he was inside the keep, Bracken reached out to his horn, finding Kendra's location easily. He walked quickly to the conference room and opened the door. His heart ached at what He saw. Kendra had her head on the table in, what looked to be, a very uncomfortable position. Mizelle had been right , her aura was a lot dimmer than it should have been. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Bracken felt her jerk beneath his touch, obviously alarmed . He crouched down so he could look her in the eyes. Kendra seemed to relax realizing it was him. He noticed the dark purple bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. Before he could get a good look, Kendra's head began to drop again. He caught it in his hand and guided it back so she was looking into his eyes. He saw her confusion and understood that her drowsy mind wasn't connecting his concern and the situation. She obviously thought he came to retrieve her for a job or errand.

" Kendra? When was the last time you slept? " he asked , almost afraid to know the answer. he traced one of the bags under her eyes to prove she couldn't hide it. The confusion left her eyes, and was replaced with a look of thoughtfulness. After a minute she replied through a yawn.

" A week and a half. "

That confirmed Bracken's fears. That long without sleep wasn't good for anyone, let alone someone whose magic was growing rapidly. He saw Kendra's head drop once more. This time he guided it to his chest. Quickly coming to a decision, Bracken picked Kendra up, bridal style and began to carry her to her room. He realized halfway there that Kendra was already sound asleep, He reached her room and muttered the word 'open' in the fairy language. The door flew open and he placed her gently on the bed. He turned to leave when an idea struck him. Kendra had been through a lot, nightmares could be part of the problem. He went back to the side of her bed and placed a hand on her forehead. He easily made a connection with Kendra's drowsy, jumbled, mind. He could hold this connection and stop a nightmare before it happened. As a unicorn he could go a few nights without sleep, without it affecting him too bad. He left the room after making sure to turn her alarm off. Tomorrow, Bracken decided, Kendra was taking a much needed day off. He began to plan, tomorrow he was going to take her on a date. Filled with excitement at what the next day would hold, Bracken went to his room. His mind racing and planning.

††††

Kendra woke up slowly not wanting to leave her peaceful rest. She had slept better than she had in a long time. She went a full night without nightmares, she realized happily. Sitting up in the bed, she stretched and looked at the clock. Quickly she was pulled out of her peaceful state when she read it. 9:00! Why hadn't her alarm went off. Kendra jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. She was late. What if Seth had been forced to talk to the dragons alone, or take full command because of her laziness. She ran through the halls and into the dining room, still throwing her long hair into a ponytail. In her rush she tripped over a chair, falling. Before she could hit the ground a strong arm wrapped around her , catching her and pulling her up. She turned around to see Bracken. He looked half concerned and half amused.

" Are you ok? He asked.

"No! My alarm didn't go off and now I'm late!" She said frustrated with herself. She started to leave, but Bracken placed his hands on her upper arms to prevent her from moving. Confused, she looked up to meet his eyes.

" Kendra. Slow down and breathe. Your alarm didn't go off because I turned it off." He said calmly trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, hearing this had the complete opposite effect on Kendra. Breathing faster Kendra asked

" What! Why? I have meetings and paperwork and-"

" Kendra, stop! You are worrying over nothing. All those things will wait. Meetings have been rescheduled and paperwork finished by Seth. Because today you are taking a day off."

" Bracken, I can't!" She exclaimed. Trying to talk her stubborn boyfriend into letting her get to work. There was too much work for a day off. What if something went wrong? What if the peace they were in was fake? More scenarios ran through her head as Bracken bent down and kissed her forehead.

" You can, and you will. It occurred to me that while you agreed to date me, I haven't taken you on a date. It's time I did." He declared. Kendra realized she wouldn't win this fight , and a date with Bracken did sound amazing. Allowing herself to relax slightly she asked,

" What do you have planned?"

" That, princess , is a surprise." He said, with a look of triumph. Taking her hand, he led her through the halls and out the doors of the keep, in a comfortable silence. Kendra couldn't help but wonder what he planned. She was excited to find out.

††††

Bracken led Kendra to the fairy shrine. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves.

" Bracken, are we going to the fairy realm?" Kendra asked. He turned and saw her smirking like she knew what he was up to. She had no idea.

" Why else would we be at the fairy shrine?" He asked playfully. " What I think you're asking is what we are going to do. I will admit that the fairy shrine is more like a way to get to our destination." Seeing her look of confusion he continued." It's called shrine hopping. You enter the fairy realm through the closest shrine to you. Then exit the fairy realm through the shrine closest to your destination. It allows you to travel from one side of the world to another in a matter of minutes." He finished. Bracken laughed at the look of wonder on her face, before taking her hand and willing himself to travel into the realm. He felt the familiar whiteness wash over him. As it dissipated, he found himself standing in a green meadow.

He began to walk with Kendra beside him. They walked in comfortable silence through the vast meadow. They continued to walk until they reached a shrine surrounded by trees covered in frost. Bracken had been there earlier that morning to set the things they would need at each shrine they would be using. He pulled Kendra to the tree closest to the exit of the fairy realm. He paused and smiled at her look of amazement. He always found it amusing how she was amazed at the simple things. It was one of the many things he loved about her. She turned and looked at him with one eyebrow raised in a question.

" What is it?" She asked. Oblivious to his racing heart.

"Nothing." He said, turning to grab two heavy coats draped across the limb on the tree. When he turned to look at her once more she was looking at him oddly.

"What are those for?"She asked.

"Do you remember learning that there were magic preserves everywhere?" He asked starting off. Seeing her nod of confirmation, he continued. " Well, There is one about 2 miles from the arctic circle. It is one of the most beautiful preserves."

" Wow! I can't wait to see it!" She said excited. She looked at the coats once more before adding," but if we are that close to the arctic circle, won't we need warmer clothes?"

" These coats are made of a special fairy material that keeps you warmer than a regular coat. As long as your body continues to regulate temperature, the coats mimic the action. "

" That's really cool!" She said excepting the smaller of the two coats. Bracken then turned to grab something else. Now for the fun part. What Kendra didn't know was that Bracken had an activity of some kind planned for each destination. Going beyond sight seeing. Which brought him to the objects he was grabbing, ice skates.

††††

Kendra zipped up the coat and was amazed at how she wasn't too hot. It was warm in the fairy realm and she had thought the coat would make her hot, despite the explanation given by her boyfriend. The coat was a little big, reaching her knees, while Brackens, stopped at the end of his waist. Turning her attention back to Bracken, she found him holding two pairs of ice skates in his hands. He had an amused look on his face as he stared at her.

"What?" she asked, confused.

" You look adorable." He said with a small chuckle at how big the coat seemed to be on her small frame. Kendra felt a small blush creep up on her cheeks.

" You know how to ice skate?" She asked, trying to change the subject, not finding a reason why he wouldn't. She herself had never been and therefore didn't know how.

" Yes, this preserve is the place I learned. "

" Well, I hope you don't mind teaching me." She said. Already knowing his answer.

" Of course, Kendra. It's not too hard to learn once you can stand." He said, smiling brightly at her. That smile made her melt inside. " Are you ready to go?" He asked, taking her hand and standing in the center of the exit shrine. " Oh, one more thing, there are gloves in the pockets. You're going to need them. " He added quickly. He waited for her to put them on before taking her hand once more. Kendra saw the flash of white light. When it dissipated, she found herself in the most beautiful winter wonderland. The sky seemed so blue and the snow so white. She realized with amazement that she wasn't cold at all. Ahead of them, she saw a frozen over pond, perfect for ice skating. Bracken pulled her over to it and sat down, beginning to pull on his ice skates, and showing her how to do it. Then he pulled her gently to her feet and on to the ice. Steadied her and began to teach her how.

(Time skip to the end of the day, still Kendras POV)

Kendra exited the fairy realm for the last time that day, arriving at wyrmroost. She was exhausted but happier than she had been in a long time. Kendra, despite Brackens insistence that she did fine, never got the hang of ice skating. Both had laughed until their sides ached. There had been one point where Kendra fell and Bracken had tried to pull her up. He ended up slipping himself and falling as well. Around noon, they headed for their next destination. Not before getting into a small snowball fight though. There next destination had been a beautiful garden in China. There they ate a picnic lunch. It seemed that he had thought of everything. Most of their time afterward was spent at a festival in Mexico. Games, food, you name it! As it began to reach 6:00 they both left and returned to the realm. Kendra had expected them to head back, but was surprised to be met by Bracken's sisters. They had whisked her off and dressed her in this beautiful dress that went to her ankles. It was soft and silky. It was form fitting until her hips and then it flowed like a waterfall. It was deep blue at the top and slowly faded to white at the bottom. It shimmered and sparkled as she walked adding a magical feel. Her hair was braided to one side with a silver ribbon braided in. When they were finished dressing her, she went to find Bracken, who was wearing a suit. When he saw her, he had stood in shock for a terrifying moment. His mouth opened as he saw her. He had taken her to dinner in Paris and then they watched the sun set from the Eiffel Tower. That brought her back to now, walking back to wyrmroost, Bracken's arm around her. She was still in her dress and he was still in a suit.

" Did you have fun today?" Bracken asked quietly after a few minutes of walking in silence.

" Yes. It's been so long since I've laughed like that, and I don't remember a time I've ever been happier."she said just as quiet.

" Good. That was the goal. To make you happy. I watch you, I see what a toll this has on you. I wanted to give you a day to relax. A day to feel appreciated. And loved." Bracken stopped walking and looked Kendra in the eyes." Kendra, always remember, no matter how bad things get, or what happens, you are loved. I know you doubt yourself and your abilities. I know you fear the future, but no matter what, always remember, that I Love you Kendra Sorenson, and nothing will ever change that." He finished. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. Kendra had wanted to hear that for a long time. Hear the words that someone, other than her family loved her. After Navarog, she had been so afraid to trust, so afraid to love. Bracken had healed those wounds and stolen her heart. She knew that he would hold her heart gently and cherish it, like the most valuable treasure. Things might be hard and situations tough. The road might be long and she might not always understand. But as long as they were together, they were definitely going to make it.

 **Thats the end! Sorry I skipped some of the date i wasn't sure how to go about it. Sorry for the delay i will try to update on Fridays or Saturdays because of . The next one will be two parts and will be about how Kendra gets injured mixed with a suggestion from Leafdragon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait i've been swamped in school and have been sick. This is a one shot kind of continuing Kendra's thoughts in chapter 2 afraid to trust. This takes place after dragonwatch book 2 so DO NOT READ unless your ok with spoilers. A bunch of comfort and fluff. Darker than what I would usually write but here we go**

 **Chapter 5: Holding on**

Kendra felt like she was going to drown. She just couldn't breathe. She felt trapped in her own body. She had been captured by Ronodin a week ago and now she sat in a cold damp cell. Her body ached due to the daily beatings she received. The worst part of these beatings were the person beating her. Her brother Seth, now apparently Ronodin's apprentice. The shock of this fact caused her to want to scream. She bit her fist instead knowing that screaming would only cause more beatings. Memories of Seth comforting her or them messing around, made her heart ache. His mischievous smile, and corny jokes. His stupid plans that always turned out in the end. Seth protecting her like he always wanted to. What hurt even worse was that he didn't have any memory of this, of her. He truly believed she was a monster. That Ronodin was good. She had no more tears but she felt worse than before. She felt like she was being crushed by the memories and the thoughts. She was terrified. She knew that it was her fault. _' You stupid, excuse for a girl.'_ She told herself. _' You're an ugly, disgusting person. Everyone is going to die and it's all your fault. You were too scared to turn the key and now Seth is suffering. You really are a monster.'_ Her thoughts continued in this cycle, Each one feeling like a hot knife cutting into her.

At times they would become too much and she would slam her head against the wall. At some point she curled on the floor and fell into a troubled sleep.

††††

Bracken was being led down a hallway after being beaten by Ronodin. This time he wasn't alone, though. Ronodin had an apprentice, someone Bracken had never expected, Seth Sorenson. Seth had always been a good boy. Maybe a little mischievous, but good. What had happened, what caused this change?

Bracken noticed dimly that he was being led down a different hallway than usual. As he pondered this they stopped and shoved him into a cell. This cell was bigger than the old one an seemed brighter. It had 2 cots instead of one. He turned around to examine the rest of the cell. As he did, his eyes were forced shut as they were assaulted with an unnatural brightness. A light on a whole different spectrum. The light of a fairykind.

Brackens heart pounded in his chest as he waited for his eyes to adjust. Praying, that by some miracle, he was wrong that it wasn't her, He opened his eyes. His heart felt as if it was being ripped out of his chest at the sight he saw.

Kendra lay, curled in a ball in the far left corner, on the cold cell floor. He could see oozing cuts and bruises on her arms and the part of her face that he could see. Her eyes were red and puffy, an obvious sign that she had been crying. He moved to crouch next to her, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding at the sight of her breathing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed something that disturbed him greatly, there was blood on the wall. Looking back down at Kendra, he noticed the hair on the back of her head caked with blood. Moving her hair gently, he checked the wound. It was shallow and didn't seem to have any stone lodged in it. What really upset him was the fact that, based off the positioning and shape of the wound, it was obviously self inflicted. He knew for a fact Ronodin caused enough pain, why on earth would she inflict more?

Pushing the thoughts away for the moment, he gently lifted Kendra bridal style, trying not to move her too much. Bracken ignored his protesting muscles as he moved to lay her on one of the cots. Once getting her situated ,he moved to sit on the opposite cot, sighing deeply as he saw bleeding bite marks on her hands.

When she woke up, he was going to talk to her about this. Make her realize that things weren't bad enough for her to hurt herself. They would never be bad enough. Learn about what happened with Seth and what had driven her to do this. But for now he was going to let her sleep. That was the best medicine for her at the present moment

††††

The first thing Kendra noticed as she began to wake up was the fact that her head hurt terribly. She kept her eyes closed not wanting to wake up. The cot was surprisingly comfortable. That thought made her eyes fly open as she sat straight up. She immediately regretted it as she was hit with dizziness and a throbbing head. Wincing, she began to bring her hands toward the back of her head.

" Your head will probably hurt for a while." Said a deep, soothing, male voice, laced with sadness.

Yelping, Kendra jumped backwards, effectively falling off the cot. A strong hand grabbed her arm and kept her from hitting the ground as hard. She pulled her arm forcefully out of his grasp and tried to run in the other direction. She felt the strong hands once again grab her arms, this time spinning her around to face him. She squeezed her eyes shut as she struggled and squirmed. Desperate to escape his grasp. All she could see was Ronodin's evil, twisted face. The grip tightened as the man spoke once again.

" Kendra, stop! Look at me. Its Bracken!"

At his words she immediately stopped struggling and opened her eyes to look at him. She saw his silvery hair, slightly longer than before. And his deep blue eyes that looked at her sadly. She stared at him in disbelief. She had wanted to see him again for so long, though preferably under different circumstances. He released her upper arms and gave a short, humorless laugh,

" We have got to start finding better ways to meet up." He said as if reading her mind. Then, blushing, she realized he had been.

" Are you ok?" she asked softly, surprised at how weak her voice sounded. She knew it was a stupid question, they were in a prison, of course he wasn't ok. Her reasoning was selfish and she hated herself for it, but she wanted to hear that she wasn't alone in her misery. That someone else felt just as horrible. Bracken gave a deep sigh before answering.

" Physically, I'm just bruised. Mentally, I'm tired. More tired than I think I have ever been. I wanted to protect you. To keep you as far away from this mess as possible." He moved to sit on one of the cots as he finished.

" I'm ok. It's not your fault I was captured. It's mine. " She said moving to sit beside him. She was internally beating herself up over the fact that he blamed himself for her stupidity. She noticed darkly the thing she had wanted now only caused more pain. Bracken looked her in the eyes. The sadness and determination, she saw startled her.

"No, Kendra you're not." He answered firmly, he continued before she could protest. "This," he said, indicating the scabs on her hand in the shape of bite marks and the wound on her head. " Is not ok. Why would you hurt yourself like that? Things aren't that bad Kendra."

Kendra couldn't bring herself to look at him. She honestly hadn't meant to hurt herself or him. She was just trying to make the pain stop.

"I didn't mean to." She said quietly, her voice quavering " the thoughts, the voices, they all became too much. I had to make it stop b-but I didn't know h-how. I f-felt so alone. I wan-wanted to scream, but I couldn't b-because I knew they would beat m-me a-again" Kendra finished choking on sobs as she talked struggling to hold herself together. She felt his strong arms wrap around her a pull her to him in an embrace. She allowed herself to melt into him, sobbing into his shirt. Letting all the pain, fear, and sorrow pour out of her. She drew comfort from Brackens silent rocking. Glad that he wasn't trying to fix it, he was just being there. Just letting her cry.

A while later, how long she didn't know, Kendra pulled away, having cried all her tears. This time, however, she felt like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She muttered a small thank you as she stared at his now soaked, shirt. His fingers lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eyes.

" I'm always here for you Kendra. Promise me something. Promise me you will hold on. Hold on just a little while longer. Because I promise this pain won't last forever. If you ever feel that way again come and talk to me. I promise you are never alone." He hugged her again," promise me." He said.

"I promise" Kendra answered, relaxing in his hold. Feeling better than she had in a long while. she would still have bad days, but this time, she knew she wasn't alone. She had found a small island to wash up on. A refuge from the storm. Someone to hold on to her when she couldn't hold on herself. And in that moment she new she was going to be just fine

 **That's chapter 5 I will write the 2 part one eventually at the moment I have to step away from it. This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT if you EVER feel like this please find help. Talk to someone. If you can't find anyone you are more than welcome to talk to me. I will do everything in my power to help you or find you some one who can.**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is based off the song Hold Her by for KING and COUNTRY. It takes place while Bracken is imprisoned by Ronodin and consists of mostly flashbacks and missing scenes throughout the books. This was suggested by Leafdragon16 and FrosttheiceDragon.**

 **Chapter 6: When the worst is yet to come (Part 1)**

Pain. That was all he knew nowadays. Bracken spit out a glob of silver blood and leaned against the cell wall. Grimly he smiled, he had made It through yet another torture session without revealing anything. Each time seemed worse and more violent. His resolve was strong, but how long before he broke? He would never spill the information, but how long until he died? Ronodin had recently resorted to starving him as well as daily torture. He was hungry, sore, weary, and homesick. No, he thought, it doesn't get much worse than this. His dreams were haunted by visions of Kendra dying horrible deaths. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Big, expressive, green eyes, that twinkled. Oh, how he missed those eyes! Always so bright and full of life. The determination they held, even amidst the pain and sorrow. The way she would shine impossibly brighter when she smiled. Her long, wavy, Brown hair. In his dreams all of it was gone. Her eyes cold and lifeless, hair matted to her face with blood. In these dreams Bracken was usually forced to watch her perish at the hands of his so called cousin. All the while she would scream and beg for his help. He wasn't sure if they were natural or induced by Ronodin. Either way they were horrible. Trying in vain, to shift into a position that eased the throbbing, Bracken reflected once again. Captured, injured, tortured, he was certain this was the worst it could get.

Bracken let out a humorless laugh as a memory hit him of the last time he said that. It had been a night that would change his life forever. The night he met Kendra Sorenson.

*FLASHBACK*

 _Bracken paced his cell in anger and worry. The information that the Sphinx was close to opening Zzyxz was eating away at him. He was captured, assumed dead, and the demon prison is about to open. 'No,' he thought 'it can't get much worse than this.'_

 _Suddenly he heard the sound of stone scraping stone. The wall moved to reveal a man. The man was short and thin with a shaggy beard and a limp. He was kind of shady, but Bracken detected no harmful intentions._

 _"There's a new prisoner in the cell that, that boy who escaped was in." He said in a deep gravelly voice. News of Seth's escape had traveled fast. The information baffled him. Why would the Sphinx be that careless? Shrugging it off for the moment Bracken exited his cell and began to walk down the narrow tunnel._

 _After about 5 minutes Bracken reached the cell. Taking a breath to steel himself, he opened the passageway._

 _Instantly, he was blinded by a light on a whole different spectrum. A light he hadn't seen in centuries, and hadn't expected to see ever again. The light of a fairykind. He instantly knew that this couldn't be a spy._

 _" W-who are you?" Asked a sweet, innocent, female voice. Brackens heart instantly melted. Unicorns were drawn to innocence. The voice was laced with pain and fear. It took all of him not to run and console his mothers handmaiden._

 _" One of the neighbors. " Bracken said keeping his voice calm and level. He made the mistake of trying to look at her again. His eyes saw pure white before they where forced to close once again. " I thought my sources must have been mistaken when i heard they had already filled the vacancy here." He spoke gently but unsuspiciously. Trying to gain a bit of trust and slightly ease her fear._

 _"You know who was here before?" The girl asked. She sound suspicous. Her voice again slightly twindged with fear._

 _" I do." He answered once again opening his eyes. It was hard to hold a conversation with someone you couldn't see. Failing, to see more than a shadow, he made a request. " Can you turn it down a little?"_

 _" Excuse me?" She asked, sounding confused and slightly offended._

 _"Hit the dimmer or something, you're shining like a lighthouse." Bracken said slightly frustrated. Stabbing pain in your eyes isnt a fun thing. Years without much exposer to light was making it near immpossible to adjust to a light he used to see everyday. That frustrated him._

 _" Most people can't see my light, including me. " she said the fear returning to her voice. Bracken was shocked. His first thought was that she was being difficult. It seemed this fairykind truly didn't know how to control her powers, or what she was capable of._

 _"Right. Give me a moment. My eyes will adjust." Bracken forced himself to open his eyes, ignoring the pain. He blinked rapidly. Whiteness giving way to a blur standing huddled in what he thought was a corner._

 _" Ok, I think I can handle it." Bracken said, squinting and blinking until things came into focus. As soon as they did, Brackens breath caught in his throat. Standing before him was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen in his long life._

 _" Wow. You'll never be dimmed." He heard himself mutter as he stared awestruck at the fairykind. She was short and thin with long brown hair. She had shockingly bright green eyes, whose color he couldn't name, with gold flecks at their center. She had high cheekbones with a light dusting of freckles. Immediately he knew that their destinies would be intertwined. For better or for worse. He vowed from that moment on to protect her no matter what._

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Bracken smiled as he thought back. She had held his heart from the very beginning. He thought about how far Kendra had come in the trust department. It had taken time, but she had learned to trust him. He thought back to how she went from yelling at him to jumping in front of the demon king's sword for him. Bracken remembered the fear and awe of that moment. How amazed at her courage he was. How scared he was in those moments before the Astrids returned her to safety. Bracken took his vow to protect her very seriously, and he never wanted to lose her

*FLASHBACK*

 _Bracken felt a searing pain in his chest, as the demon king's sword found its mark. Distantly he heard his mother cry his name. He closed his eyes half against pain and half in expectancy for a fatal blow that never arrived. He heard the demon king release a sickening, downright scary, roar. A roar that meant he was being challenged. Bracken tried to get a glimpse of who had just challenged the demon king and saved his life, but the loss of blood and pain caused darkness to close in around him. Before he had a chance to beat it back, he lost consciousness._

 _†††_

 _Bracken woke to the sight of unicorns surrounding him and asking him if he was alright. He ignored them and stood. They all stood back a pace._

 _" Your highness are you sure you're alright? You suffered a near fatal wound." Asked one of the head unicorns of healing with great concern. He recognized him as a unicorn named Amare, one that healed him countless times in his younger years. Bracken had once been known for being somewhat mischievous. They were all thrilled and slightly surprised at the princes return. And none of them were in any hurry to lose him again._

 _" Yes, Amare, thank you for your concern, but I am fine." Bracken said giving a small smile. The unicorn gave a small nod and blushed at the praise. Brackens smile quickly faded as he looked around the ridge they were on, and caught no sign of either Kendra or Seth._

 _"Amare, have you seen my mothers handmaiden or her brother the shadow charmer?" He asked, desperate to know the answer._

 _" The shadow charmer I have seen. He was brought here near death from wounds inflicted by demons. The Sands of Sanctity were used to heal him. He is standing on the edge watching the battle." He explained, gesturing to where Seth stood with a pair of binoculars. He seemed to be cheering._

 _" And my mothers handmaiden?"_

 _" I have not seen her, my apologies, your majesty."_

 _" Not your fault Amare, just means she has luckily sustained no injury as of yet." Bracken said half to the old unicorn and half to himself. He quickly excused himself to go and see if Seth knew the whereabouts of his sister. Brackens heart pounded in his chest as he tried to convince himself that Kendra was fine. Reaching Seth he saw the younger boy throw his hands up._

 _" I can't believe this! She one upped me!" He said in unbelief._

 _" Who one upped you? " Bracken asked slightly confused. Seth turned in surprise to look at him, then smiled and handed him the binoculars. Bracken made no move to look through them, instead continued to stare at Seth._

 _" Kendra. I slay Graulas and she goes and slays the demon king!" Seth said in mock exasperation, but Bracken could hear the pride in his voice._

 _Alarmed, Bracken looked through the binoculars and toward where the demon king was last seen. Sure enough, he saw the demon king lying lifeless on the ground, and Kendra standing over him, shining brilliantly. Vasilis, alive in her hands. It glowed as brightly as she did. Bracken was awestruck at how beautiful and determined she looked. A fire shining in her green eyes. But he was also filled with gut wrenching worry over the fact that Kendra was in the battle field, surrounded by demons._

 _" Dude! That's my sister you're staring at right now." Seth said with a smirk, pulling Bracken from his thoughts. Bracken eyed the shadow charmer, hearing a certain degree of protectiveness, and detecting the underlying threat beneath his mischievous and lighthearted attitude. He was surprised at how close the two sibling seemed to be._

 _Bracken simply nodded his understanding and sat down, exhaustion beginning to catch up to him. Seth relaxed his stance, realizing the unicorn understood, and sat beside him. Bracken watched as a few minutes later an Astrid brought Kendra to the ridge, he relaxed when he saw her uninjured. He thought about how the beautiful young fairykind had nearly given him a heart attack. Smiling, he realized it wasn't the first time since they met, and he had a hunch it wouldn't be the last. Suddenly, Bracken realized how deep his affection for her went. Then glumly acknowledged their huge age difference, and the fact that she was still merely a child. He came to a decision that if she wanted this, he would wait for her, forever if that's what it took. Strengthening his new resolve, Bracken stood to greet Kendra._

*END OF FLASHBACK*

At the time, Bracken had thought that resolve was so strong. He would always wait for her to be ready, but waiting for her to reach adulthood, seemed to be taking an agonizing amount of time. Each time he saw her he fell more in love with her. The thought of losing her, without being able to show her that love, crushed him. He had given her his first horn in an attempt to show her, while they were apart. But Ronodin had quickly put an end to that. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to keep them apart. And destroy any relationship they shared. Bracken was determined not to lose her. Not to let this beautiful, amazing girl, slip through his fingers. Slowly the events and exhaustion of the day began to catch up with him, as Bracken fell into a troubled sleep.

†††

Bracken woke up in a cold sweat, the same nightmare of Kendra's death running through his head. Taking a calming breath, he sat up. His gut telling him something other than the dream had woken him. Listening carefully, he heard the jingling of keys and what seemed to be the sounds of battle coming from the outside of his cell. Bracken quickly stood and shook off the lightheadedness that came from his sudden rise. He heard the sound of the keys in the lock and a small cry of triumph. Moments later the door swung open revealing a man not quite big enough to be a brownie but definitely bigger than a nipsie. He crouched down and lifted him up. And asked, his voice filled with confusion,

" Thank you for freeing me, may I ask who you are?"

" My name is Calvin, I'm afraid there isn't much time for more introduction, I don't know how long Kendra can hold off Ronodin, or how long it will take his apprentice to notice us." The small man, apparently named Calvin said. Bracken sat Calvin on his shoulder and began to run with the knowledge that Kendra was facing Ronodin. In his mind, no matter how amazing she was, she didn't stand a chance. He was also baffled by the fact that his evil cousin had an apprentice. He had never seen or heard of him before. He listened to Calvin tell him which way to go to reach her and payed attention to the growing noise of the battle taking place. As he reached the end of the corridor, Bracken saw something jump out of the shadows. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. First, there was a stinging pain as his cheek was sliced open, he was then slammed against the wall as he came face to face with someone he didn't expect. Face to face with Ronodins apprentice. Face to Face with Seth Sorenson.

 **Ok, so this was supposed to be out a long time ago and I kind of slacked off. Sorry about that. Anyway, this will be 2 or 3 parts! I hope that this is decent. It's just the beginning. I will try my very best to update soon. Please review so that I can get your input on things. Until next time**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is for kennachanmaiden who wanted to see Bracken confess his feelings to Kendra after she is severely injured. This is based of the song Tell Your Heart To Beat Again by Danny Gokey. Warning you might want some tissues.**

 _ **tell your head to beat again**_

Kendra dropped her sword as pain surged through her stomach. She heard her name being yelled by a familiar voice, but it sounded strangely distant and unimportant. The only that truly registered in her mind was the unbearable pain coming from the stab wound in her stomach. An indescribable pain that was pushing quickly her towards the realm of unconsciousness. Somehow, Kendra knew she had to stay awake. That giving into the darkness would prove fatal, so she fought. She thought about Bracken and Seth. About her parents and Grandparents. She held onto these things like she would hold onto a life raft. Sadly, her grip on reality was quickly slipping and Kendra knew, she was going to die.

Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grab her face and turn it. Curiosity caused her to force her heavy eyelids open, fighting the pain and darkness once more. She found herself staring into two silvery blue eyes, filled with tears. Bracken was speaking to her as he shifted to look at her wound.

" Kendra... stay awake... hold... ok... Kendra... stay... Me... need... Love..."

Kendra knew there was more that had been said, but she could only make out some of it. Kendra had never been more tired in her life. She felt as if she hadn't slept in years. Her eyelids began to slip shut once more. Bracken was talking loudly and urgently but his words were beyond her understanding at this present moment. As awful as it may sound Kendra welcomed the death. Freedom from the hurt, fear an anxiety. The PTSD and panic attacks. Freedom from everything. Finally, she gave into the comforting darkness, too weak to fight it any longer.

††††

"Kendra!" Bracken yelled, staring in horror as Ronodin's sword plunged into Kendra's stomach. She screamed and then made a strangled noise. The sound of blood gurgling into her lungs. She had jumped in front of the sword for him. Bracken's horror quickly turned into rage as he lunged at Ronodin. A low roar, leaving his mouth. Ronodin stumbled backwards, shocked at the sudden change in his timid and typically kind, cousin.

Bracken quickly finished the fight, not even stopping to see the damage or bask in this victory. Instead, he ran, dropping to his knees in front of Kendra. She was deathly pale and laying in a pool of her own blood. Brackens heart shattered at the sight of her closed eyes and he feared he was too late. Yet his hopes soared at the sight of her opening her eyes when he grabbed her face. Bracken knew he had to keep her awake, so he began to ramble as he inspected the wound.

"Kendra, hey keep your eyes open stay awake for me. Come on, hold on. You're going to be ok. Kendra, I know you're tired, but stay awake for me. Stay with me. Stay with me, you hear me! I need you! Please Kendra, I'm begging you, Stay with me! I Love you!" His words started sure and steady and ended frantic and slightly hysterical. He couldn't lose her. She meant more to him than anything. He didn't want to live without her The wound was refusing to heal beyond a scab, not even touching the extensive internal damage. And despite his efforts Kendras eyes closed and she took one last shuddering breath. Bracken felt something he had never felt before. Since he was connected through his horn, he felt all life drain and stop. Her heart and lungs stopped and her brain began to shut her body down.

Bracken's head fell to her chest, he sobbed.

" No, Kendra. Come back. I... I can't lose you. Please come back. " He sobbed completely broken. This was his fault. If he had done something, anything, this wouldn't have happened. Suddenly there was a bright flash, causing Bracken to wince and his hopes soar once more. And an idea hit him, it was risky and could kill both of them, but Bracken was convinced it couldn't get worse than it already was. Though Kendra had physically died, magically she still had a few minutes. Her magic sustained her life force slightly and preserved her mind, though her body had shut down. Bracken was going to use Kendra's own magic to heal her and restart her system. He had no idea what the repercussions would be. He had no clue if she would ever be able to do things physically again. But he knew she would be alive and that was enough for him.

Bracken closed his eyes and delved deep into her mind and grabbed as much magic energy as he could, without destroying the protection of her brain, and sent it to the wound. Bracken opened his and saw the wound beginning to heal. Using what was left, he sent a Shockwave of magic energy to her heart. Kendra's body arched off the ground, but strangely, though she was now physically healed, her heart wouldn't beat. after several more times Bracken pulled away tears pouring down his face as he said in one final attempt to bring her back,

"Kendra, I don't know if you can hear me, but I love you more than anything. I can't lose you. I don't know what you've gone through or the pain you've endured, but I need you to tell your heart to beat again. You have so much to live for, tell your heart to beat again, please." After saying this Bracken sent a final Shockwave to her heart and this time she took a breath and her heart began to beat once more. Bracken began to cry in relief.

" Thank you, oh my goodness, thank you! Kendra can do something for me, if you can hear me squeeze my fingers." He said slipping two fingers into her hand almost immediately he felt a small, weak squeeze. " Good job, Kendra. Princess, I need you to open your eyes, can you do that for me?"

Kendra's eyelids fluttered and after a few minutes of coaxing, her eyelids lifted to reveal her beautiful green eyes. Kendra looked exhausted to say the least, but it she was alive.

" Hey, how you feeling?" Bracken asked, brushing a wet strand of hair off her sweat drenched face.

"Fine." Kendra said weakly trying to sit up. Bracken quickly stopped her and laid her back down.

" Woah, hey slow down. Take it easy and rest. Now tell me the truth how do you feel?"

" Weak, dizzy and really tired."

" That sounds more believable. You lost a lot of blood, which explains the weakness and dizziness. And you're tired because you were physically dead for almost 10 minutes and you're magically drained." Bracken's voice cracked at the end of his small speech and he continued looking deep into Kendra's eyes " I almost lost you, I did lose you and it broke me. I realized for the first time how quickly you could have been taken from me. We could die at any time and... What I'm trying to say is, I love you Kendra Sorenson, more than life itself. And I don't want to waste anymore time." Bracken finished blushing as he confessed everything to the beautiful fairykind. Tears shone in her gorgeous eyes and for a minute he was afraid he had said something that had upset her. That was, until her face broke out into a huge smile.

" I love you too Bracken, more than anything. Thank you for saving me."

Bracken felt overwhelmed by emotions and before he could stop himself, he swooped down and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, loving kiss. After a moment he broke the absolutely magical kiss and Kendra began to speak as tears rolled down her cheeks and she struggled to catch her breath.

" I was so worried when I lost contact with you. I am so so so sorry! If I had just dealt with things myself, none of this would have happened. This is all my fault." Kendra sobbed, all the stress, pain and weariness catching up to her and causing hysteria to set in. Bracken quickly, but gently pulled her up into his lap and rocked gently. Softly running his fingers through her chocolate hair and down her small back.

"Shh, it's alright. Listen this wasn't your fault ok. Don't blame yourself. It's alright, I'm here and I promise I'm going to protect you. Everything is going to be ok."

" I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I just-"

" Shh. You're not going to lose me, I've got you. Just breath."

" I was so scared when he-"

" Shh. I'm ok. You're ok. We're ok. No one can hurt you know, I've got you."

"But what if-"

" Shh. Kendra do you hear my heart beat? Just focus on that. Relax. Everything is going to be alright. Allow yourself to rest and to heal. Not everything is your fault. There are some things you just can't control. There's nothing you can do to prevent them. They just happen."

They stayed in that position for a long time, both reminding the other that they were there and alive, until finally Kendra fell asleep. The exhaustion of the day's events and the sound of Brackens heartbeat lulling her into the peaceful sleep of recovery. When she had fallen asleep, Bracken picked up her small body and carried her out of the prison. He carried her out of the darkness and into the light, determined to protect her for all eternity.

 **So this is my reunion thanks to kennachanmaiden for the idea.I am always open to suggestions. I will update when the worst is yet to come soon** .


	8. Chapter 8

So guys I am really sorry for not updating but I am currently in the hospital. Updates will depend on how I feel. Again I'm really sorry, hopefully I'll get over this soon and update again. Anyway I doubt I'll update until I get out of the hospital. Sorry, don't hate me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Honestly, this is probably horrible. I am out of the hospital, but have started dialysis. I'm going to TRY to get back to updating regularly, but it might take a bit as I adjust to my hectic schedule. Thanks to FairyGirl22, KennaChanMaiden, Alyssa Belle, and Wolf love27. Here is part 2 of the worst is yet to come. This is for LeafDragon16 and frosttheicedragon. Thanks to every that reviewed. So here we go**

Chapter 7: when the worst is yet to come (part 2)

Kendra had been fighting Ronodin for a while now. He had destroyed her bow a long time ago. She was now fending him off with 2 knives and a technique that Warren had taught her called the double knife defense (I wonder how many people will catch this reference?). She had done everything she could have possibly done to prepare for this battle. She planned, trained, and even drank an endurance potion. She couldn't have been more prepared, still Ronodin was proving to be too much for her. Sweat beaded her forehead and her muscles screamed at her in protest of the drawn out fight. She felt slightly lightheaded due to the various gashes on her body. She blinked, trying to clear her vision of the blood that had fallen from a cut above her left eye. Her shoulder hurt and threatened to give during certain positions Ronodin would place her in. The gash on it poured blood soaking her shirt. The scariest part was that Ronodin didn't seem to be affected by her attacks at all. He had destroyed the arrows before they reached her. At one point he had turned them back around on her. She had managed to escape with only a minor scrape on her legs. She cried out as Ronodin managed to land a hit with the hilt of his sword, her skin immediately beginning to bruise. She felt her breastplate give and fall as the strap broke at the hit. The blood drained from her face at the prospect of her vital organs being exposed to the brutal blows of Ronodin. All she knew was that if she had any chance of surviving, Calvin had better hurry. Before she could ponder it anymore, Ronodin slammed her against one of the walls. Their blades met, Kendra tried desperately to push back his blade, but her injured shoulder prevented her from using much force. She closed her eyes, expecting a fatal blow when she heard something coming from the tunnel Calvin had disappeared down. A sound that both lifted and crushed her spirits.

" Ronodin!" Yelled a familiar voice. A voice that was deeper than the last time she heard it. A voice that belonged to her brother, Seth. She was relieved at the sight of him unharmed but her spirits sunk at the sight of silver blood on the edge of his sword. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to fall. Ronodin stopped to look at Seth, still keeping her pinned to the wall. His eyes burned with fury at the interruption.

"What do you want, boy! What could be so important that it means interrupting me?"

" The fact that the unicorn tried to escape. The girl let a spy down there to unlock the cell. I took care of it though." Seth replied sounding nocholant. As he walked closer, Kendra could see repressed fury in his eyes. She had never seen that in Seths eyes, and quiet frankly , it terrified her.

"Did you kill him?" Ronodin asked the anger suddenly vanishing. Kendra felt her heart clench waiting for the answer. She noticed him glance at her. " Just like you've told me to do a millian times before, if he escapes." Seth scoffed. Kendra felt like part of herself died inside with the news. All of her hoped came crashing down. The tears flowed free now. Ronodin gave her a mock pity look.

" Oh don't worry your pretty little head, you'll soon join him." Ronodin said raising his sword. Kendra let her blades fall to the ground. What was the point? She was going to die anyway, why fight it.

" Ronodin, wait! Let me do it!" Seth's calls stopped Ronodin in his tracks as he once again turned to him.

"What did you just say?"

" I said let me do it. You've trained me and taught me alot. Let me prove myself."

Ronodin paused for a moment then nodded, " very well, prove yourself, but i reserve the right to stop you at anytime." Seth nodded and before he could comment further, Ronodin turned to her. " Pick up your blades. Don't try anything funny, no one likes a cheater or a coward."

Kendra bent down and picked up her blades, her muscles protesting and almost giving out. For the first time Kendra studied Seth closely. It amazed her what a year did to him. He had grown to where he now towered over her. He had obviously built up some muscle and looked pretty intimidating. Suddenly he charged her and his blade swung down and met the x of her blades. She was suprised how little the force was. Then her hopes soared once more as there blades locked and she saw something that made her fight a smile. A sight that made her want to drop everything and hug him tightly. A wink and that familiar mischieveous glint.

*10 minutes earlier. Brackens pov*

Brackens stood in shock as he stared at Seth Sorenson. His normal playful, mischievous eyes filled black with fury. Bracken also noted that his aura was alot darker than it usually was. He was acting like a normal shadowcharmer. Bracken barely had time to dodge as Seth lunged at him again. His sword technique had obviosly improved. Bracken noted the way Seth stood and held his sword. He also noted the way he looked him up and down in disgust.

" So, you're the infamous prince of the fairy realm?" Seth asked rhetorically. " I must say, I'm kind of disappointed."

"Seth, what are you talking about? It's me, Bracken." Bracken was in shock. Did Seth really not remember him? What had Ronodin done to him?

"Did I ask?" Seth spat bitterly. Bracken watched Seth's stance shift ever so slightly and immediately knew what would happen next. Because a year of training, even if it was with Ronodin, was nothing compared to Brackens centuries of experience. It didn't matter if you were a Shadowcharmer or not. This time as Seth lunged at him, Bracken faked going for the boys legs. This caused the young shadowcharmer to jerk up at the last second to avoid hitting his own legs. Acting quickly at the opening, Bracken grabbed Seth's sword arm. The two men struggled; Bravcken trying desperately not only to not get hurt, but not to injure Seth.

Finally it became evident that Bracken would have to do something quickly.

" I'm sorry Seth." Bracken said quickly before twisting his grip and bending the young man's arm. The hallway was filled with a sickening snap, as the bone broke. Seth's confused and angry expression quickly turned to one of pain. Seth cried out and lost his grip on the sword. Bracken instantly felt bad, the arm broken in at least two places. Using the pain as a distraction, Bracken brought the hilt of the sword to Seth's temple. The young man's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground.

Pushing down the guilt for the time being, Bracken quickly put a hand on Seth's forehead. It didn't take long to access his mind, but what he found there startled him. Bracken found memories of destruction and war. Of lies and deceit. No memories of the Seth Soreson Bracken knew. Bracken dug deeper knowing that no magic is irreversible. As he dug he ran into a wall of some sort. A wall seeming to lock away and keep something hidden. Quickly he worked on breaking down the wall. Until finally, after what seemed to be forever, it broke causing memories to flood over Seth's mind. As they came Bracken could see the memories. Memories of Kendra and their adventures. Memories of being a toddler. The memories of Fablehaven. Slowly these memories pushed the memories of destruction back, but Bracken knew they would forever be engraved in the young boy's mind. Bracken withdrew and sat back exhausted. In his current physical condition that task had been more difficult than it should have been. Sparing only a minute too recover, Bracken used the remaider of his magic energy to heal the young boy as much as he could. The severe break turned into severe bruising and the head trama turned to a slight concussion. After a few minutes Seth sat straight up and immediatly grabbed his head.

" Ow! what happened? Where am i?" He said looking around.

" Your in Ronodins dungeons, sorry about your head. Do you know who you are? Who i am?" Bracken asked quickly hoping that it had worked.

" First of all, What the heck dude. Second of all, yes and yes." Seth repliad looking at Bracken like he had three heads. Which after the hit the boy had taken to the head, wasn't immpossible."

" Whats your full name?" Bracken said not convinced that he truly remembered. Seth sighed heavly.

" Seriously, man? I'm Seth Micheal Andrew Sorenson, My sister is Kendra Marie Sorenson, and your Bracken a unicorn and the POF."

"Seth! Your remember! And what is a POF."

" Well kind of, things are kind of fuzzy. And a POF is Prince Of Fairies, duh." Seth said picking his sword up of the ground. Bracken smiled, happy to see that Seth's sarcastic and mischievous nature had returned.

Bracken opened his mouth the say something but was cut off by a sound that made his blood run cold. A scream. A scream of pain and fear. Suddenly he remembered why he had rushed through the hallways in the first place. Kendra was still fighting Ronodin. Without another thought Bracken raced down the halls towards the sound, with Seth on his heals. As they drew closer Seth jerked his arm forcing him to stop. Bracken glared at him, they could afford to stop, not when Kendra was in pain. Seth, undaunted brought his voice down.

" If we just run in there, Ronodin will kill her then both of us. Especially since your weaponless. I have a plan. "

As much as Bracken wanted to run in there, Seth was right. He nodded for Seth to explain. The shadow charmer gestures down another corridor.

" Go through there, go the third door on the right. That's Ronodin's room. He keeps your horn in there. Ronodin doesn't know I have my memories back, so while you get your sword, I will keep him busy. " Seth finished. Bracken nodded quickly and ran down the corridor. Bracken couldn't stop the gut wrenching worry that plagued his mind. What I'd he wasn't fast enough? What if Kendra was injured and he couldn't heal her. The what ifs swirled in his mind, threatening to make him physically ill. Reaching the correct room, Bracken shook the thoughts away, focusing on getting the door open and getting back to the battle. After about five minutes the lock clicked and the door swung open.

"To me!" Bracken called out in the fairy tongue. Immediately his horn shot from where Ronodin had hid it and into his awaiting hand. As soon as it made contact it turned into a long pearly white sword. Without hesitation Bracken turned and ran back down the corridor towards the sound of clashing weapons.

*Seth*

Seth brought his sword down again trying his best to make this fight look real, but still be gentle with his injured sister. Kendra's eyes were glassy and she looked like she might pass out. Seth could tell Ronodin was getting suspicious. He should have been able to kill her by now. Finally, it seemed that Ronodin had finally had enough with this mock fight.

" Enough!" He yelled. Seth allowed his arms to relax at his side, but kept a stance that would allow him to easily jump in front of Ronodin's sword should it come to that. " I'm tired of this game, brother, finish her." Ronodin demanded. Seths heart shot into his throat. He couldn't kill Kendra, but if Ronodin found out that Seth was faking before Bracken got there, he would kill them both. Ronodin gave Seth an angry and impatient look before raising a hand and pinning Kendra to the wall with dark magic. " Well, heres the chance you begged for, take it."

Suddenly an idea wormed its way into Seth's head. It was the craziest thing he had ever planned, and that was saying something. Fighting a smirk, Seth walked to where Kendra was pinned to the wall. If this was going to work he had to be quick and go undetected until he actually did it. Stealthily he grabbed Kendras hand, the one hidden from Ronodin, and dug deep into his mind and powers. To an onlooker it looked as if he was whispering threats in her ear. Quickly he gathered what he could of his energy, as Ronodin yelled again for him to finish her. Seth raised his sword, praying that this would work. As he brought it down, Seth forced all of his shadow charmer energy to the surface of his being. Kendra's powers as a fairykind kept him grounded to earth and who he was, as he sent all the energy Ronodins way. The Dark Unicorn, being caught by surprise was thrown against a wall. The wall cracked with the impact, but somehow didn't severely injure Ronodin. The Dark Unicorn lay on the ground, stunned, his head bleeding where it hit the hard stone wall. Seth collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. Kendra, no longer pinned by Ronodin collapsed beside him, beginning to lose her battle against the crushing darkness and the unbearable pain. Seth tried to push himself up onto his feet, determined to protect Kendra, but as he stood his legs buckled once more. Seth heard Ronodin move towards them and he redoubled his efforts, trying to stand. It wasn't long before Ronodin was towering above them.

"Foolish boy, I'll show you what happens when you cross me. " Ronodin seethed with fury. Seth waited for the inevitable blow that would be delivered from Ronodin's deadly sword. Instead, he heard the clash of metal and opened him to find Bracken standing over them protectively. As Bracken fought Ronodin with a skill Seth wished he possessed, he began to drag both himself and his sister farther away. He desperately wished he could help. But exhaustion from his plan began to cause darkness to close in around him. Finally, even scooting across the hard, rough ground became too much and he simply laid down. Using the last of his fading strength, Seth pulled his unconscious sister into his arms and positioned himself so he would take the first blow, before giving into the darkness and falling into unconsciousness

 **I will try my best to update soon. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Feel free to send me requests.**


	10. Chapter 10

This is a get well gift for feministkendra. So here is some short Brackendra fluff based off headcanons. If you have a suggestion or would like me to expand on one of these, please tell me! Hope you enjoy!

To a unicorn, 3 nights of sleep a week was more than enough. A human needed at least double that to stay healthy over a long period of time. Bracken was usually lucky to get 2 nights before his body and mind refused to shut down enough to sleep. He could relax deeply, yes, and maybe even lightly doze, but sleep was nonexistent after about 12 hours of it.

That's exactly the situation that currently entangled him, as it did most nights. Stuck in that irritating position between sleep and wakefulness. Finally admitting defeat, Bracken opened his eyes, slightly. Thus allowing them to adjust to the blinding brightness, otherwise known as his wife, Kendra. The only thing keeping him from jumping out of bed and doing something constructive.

Had it been any other time or anybody else, Bracken wouldn't have even gone to bed. But this was Kendra. Sweet, gorgeous Kendra. Bracken knew that him, just simply laying next to her made her feel safe and protected. If Kendra deserved anything, it was to feel safe and protected. And with Kendra barely getting enough sleep as it was, he was ready to do anything he could to help. Not that Bracken minded, he loved the feeling of her small body tucked safely in his arms. Nothing compared to the peace he felt radiate through his very soul, as he felt the small rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. A constant reminder that she was safe. He hadn't failed.

In these quiet moments, Bracken couldn't help but stare at her beautiful features. Her long, brown hair, feeling so soft and silky. The hair that always smelled amazing. Her soft, pink lips and creamy white skin. He couldn't help but smile at how relaxed she was, something he never saw when she was awake. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, careful not to wake her, as he marveled at the softness. His hand ran over the shoulders which were free from their usual tenseness. Her beautiful face a pure display of peace.

He watched her softly smile in her sleep, and wondered what she was dreaming. All he had to do was gently weave into her sleeping subconscious, but he enjoyed the morning conversations about her dreams. He was also thankful for the good dreams she appeared to be having.

Bracken pulled her closer and smiled, content to stay there until morning.

"Bracken? Are you still awake?" Whispered a sheepish voice from beside him. Bracken was, indeed, still awake. Simply not tired enough to be sleeping. Kendra on the other hand, he knew, was exhausted. He rolled over to face her, squinting slightly as his eyes adjusted, confused as to what was causing her lack of sleep.

" I am, but what are you still doing up? I can tell how exhausted you are." Bracken said in concern. He reached up to brush a strand of her brown hair out of her face, allowing his hand to linger on her cheekbone, before placing a soft, gentle kiss on her forehead.

" I just can't fall asleep, I'm so tired, but my mind won't shut down." she answered shrugging. " What about you? Why can't you sleep?" She asked.

" I'm not tired. I slept two nights in a row, so I'm not sleepy." He said in a gentle soothing voice, trying to slowly lull Kendra to sleep. So far all his attempts at soothing her proving fruitless.

" You don't have to stay here if you don't want to. It must be boring just laying there."

" It's not too bad, besides, I like being with you." Bracken finished quickly, trying not to get roped into a conversation that would keep her awake any longer. They lay in silence for a few minutes when suddenly an idea struck him.

" Hey Kendra?" He said quietly, making sure she hadn't drifted off.

" Yes?" She asked, obviously happy to have an excuse to stay awake.

" Since both of us can't sleep how about we go look at the stars? That could be fun." He suggested, knowing that this way not only could he find out what was bothering her, but also get her mind off of it so she could fall asleep.

"Yeah! That's a great idea! Let's go!" Kendra said quickly kicking off the sheets and heading down the stairs of their small cabin. Bracken grabbed a blanket and followed after her, amused by her enthusiastic response. It was one of the many things he loved about Kendra, her ability to find so much joy in the littlest of things. Bracken walked through the quiet cabin and out the wooden door, closing it softly behind him.

Once outside, Bracken stopped for a moment to admire How beautiful Kendra looked as she glowed in the starlight. The gentle night-time wind blowing her long blond hair. Bracken shook his head to clear his thoughts and laid the blanket down before lying on top of it. He lay on his back, and Kendra did the same, he intertwined their fingers as they lay in silence. They stayed in that position until the cold night air caused Kendra to snuggle closer for warmth. Bracken lifted his arm, allowing Kendra to curl into his side and place her head on his chest. Bracken pulled her closer as he wrapped his arms around her, making sure she could hear his heart beat. From their current position, Bracken could feel a tenseness in her shoulders that he hadn't noticed previously. Thus indicating she was worried.

" What's causing you to tense up like this princess? What's worrying you?" He asked gently, rubbing her shoulders in a soothing, circular motion. Gently easing the knots of tension and stress. Through their contact he could feel her becoming drowsier by the second, and knew she wouldn't last much longer.

" I'm worried, about going to the royal gathering tomorrow night. I really want them to accept me." She said through half-lidded eyes, her words running together slightly. The gathering was basically a ball where all the unicorns and the royal family got together to welcome a new member. That member, in this case, being Kendra.

" You have nothing to worry about, love. Trust me . They'll love you just like I do. My family loves you. I adore you. You have nothing to worry about." He replied, meaning every word.

"Thank you. I love you too Bracken." She answered almost inaudibly.

" Sleep, Kendra, everything will keep until you wake." He whispered gently and almost immediately, Kendra went limp against him and her breathing evened out. He waited a few minutes more, listening to her soft breaths and staring at the stars above. Before, finally, gently laying Kendra on the ground and moving to pick her up and carry her back to bed. Hoping that the stress would melt away.

Kendra held Brackens hands in a death grip as he pulled her across the ice. He had taken her to a preserve near the arctic circle in an attempt to teach her to ice skate. So far, however, all Kendra had learned how to do was fall. Bracken laughed at her death grip.

" You ok, love. I'm not going to let you go!" He laughed some more before adding, " I don't know why you're so scared, It really isn't that hard."

" Easy for you to say, unicorn! You're not the one falling on your butt every time you try to stand on your own!" Kendra snapped, as she said this she slipped again, the only thing keeping her from falling was Brackens unwavering hold on her. Much to her annoyance the unicorn laughed again.

" That's only because I've had years of practice!" He said. " The only way to learn is to do it!" He added and when he said it, he let go and skated off a few inches away from her. Kendra let out a terrified yelp and braced herself for a fall. Much to her surprise, she stayed on her feet! She watched the graceful way that her boyfriend pushed off and skated around the small lake. Slowly and steadily she began to copy his movements. She let out a laugh of joy as she realized that she was skating on her own. She felt the rush of pleasure you get when you learn something new.

" You're doing great Kendra!" Bracken called with a smile on his face. At the sound of his voice, Kendra looked up and stopped watching where she was going or what she was doing. Big mistake. When she looked back to what she was doing, she realized she was reaching the edge of the small lake. Sudden panic filled her as she realized she didn't know how to stop.

"How do I stop? " She asked, the panic evident in her voice.

" Don't worry! Just Dig your feet into the ice. " Bracken called calmly. Kendra rushed to do just that. Unfortunately, when she did that she brought her feet towards each other and twisted her ankle. For at least the hundredth time that day, Kendra felt her back hit the cold ice. Bracken quickly skated over to her and put a hand out to help her up.

" Are you ok?" He asked, his face clouded with concern. " You look like you fell harder that time." She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Kendra winced as a white hot pain

" Yeah, I think I twisted my ankle when I fell." Kendra said shakily as she leaned on Bracken. He led her to sit on the snow bank lining the edge of the pond. Once she was sitting he slowly and as gently as possible pulled the ice skate off of her, already swollen, ankle. He quickly pulled her socks down slightly and place a gentle kiss to the injury. Kendra immediately felt warmth shoot through her shivering body. The warmth circled her ankle and the pain stopped.

" Thank you." Kendra said, blushing furiously. Bracken gently brushed a hand across her flaming cheek, adding fuel to the fire, as he brushed a piece behind her ear.

"Anytime, princess." He said as he placed a soft kiss to her forehead. He helped her slip her boots back on before pulling her to her feet and leading back to the fairy shrine.

 _Bracken watched from a cell where he was chained as Kendra charged Ronodin. He dodged her attack and her sword. She raised her sword to strike, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. Ronodin's evil face twisted into a malevolent smirk. Before Kendra could react, Ronodin twisted his grip and bent her arm backwards. The room was filled with the sickening snap of bone and Kendra's pain filled scream. Bracken fought against his restraints as he watched Ronodin grab Kendra's face and hit her, causing her head to violently snap backwards, no doubt causing whiplash. He lets go of her and shoves her away roughly. Then, before she can react, he kicked her legs out from underneath her. Kendra gives a short cry of pain as her head hits the ground with a resounding 'crack'. Kendra looks up at Ronodin slightly dazed. Bracken watched in horror as Ronodin's evil smirk twisted into a snarl as a he brought his foot down on her chest, hard. The bones in her chest snap and Kendra screamed in pure agony. Tear poured down her bloody face. Ronodin grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up to meet his face and he drove his sword deep into her chest._

"KENDRA!" Bracken screamed as he sat straight up in the bed drenched in sweat with tears still streaming down his face. Kendra shot up beside him look for the danger that could have caused such a pain filled, terrified scream to come from her husband. Bracken turned to look at her. He scanned her body for the injuries he had just seen his cousin inflict. Instead, he was met with worried green eyes. Bracken felt his breathing speed up ad uncontrollable sobs left his mouth. He shook like a leaf in a wind storm from the terror of the nightmare. Suddenly he felt Kendra's small arms wrap around his frame and felt her hand guide his head to rest on her chest, right over her heart. He felt her fingers run through his hair. Bracken held her in a crushing grip, afraid that she would disappear. Slowly, her steady heartbeat and slow breathing helped him relax. His sobs turned into a silent stream of tears and then stopped entirely. His breathing began to slowly even out. As his panic began to settle he could hear a sound that brought a smile back onto his face. Kendra was singing softly in his ear. The fingers running through his hair helped push him further into relaxation. Eventually Bracken stopped fighting the sleep pulling at his eyelids and let Kendra lull him to sleep, content in the knowledge that she was perfectly ok.


	11. Chapter 11

**So I finally updated. Don't kill me for not writing one of the prompts I'm supposed to be writing please. This kind of just came out of no where but here it is anyway! Thanks to everyone who has continued to support me even though I don't update often. (This also has not editing btw)**

 **Warning- this is kind of sad**

Two years. That's how long it had been since Seth had lost his memories and taken by Ronodin. That's what warren had told him at least. Bracken had returned a mere month ago when the Knights of the Dawn launched a rescue mission. Unfortunately Ronodin and Seth were off on another preserve at the time of the rescue. Bracken walked swiftly through the halls of Blackwell Keep in search of Kendra. No one had seen her for hours and when he tried to reach out to her via his horn, she seemed to be blocking him, a new trick she had learned that Bracken was not very fond of. Any other day Bracken would have simply assumed that she was busy with her duties as caretaker, but today was different. He had been gone on an assignment for the past week, the results of which he thought would make her very happy, but his absence seemed to have sent Kendra spiraling downward into her new found separation anxiety. To make matters worse, today was the day that everything had fallen apart for her. Today marked two years since Seths capture, two years since Kendra had said a word. Warren had warned him when he was rescued that Kendra was a bit different. Truthfully, he had expected change, but never like this. Kendra hadn't spoken a word since Seths disappearance, despite everyones best efforts. Kendra's cheekbones were more prominent, but not in a healthy way, actually all of her bones were more prominent. Bracken had marveled at how someone so strong could become so fragile. It terrified him. She had become so frail and fragile that he was afraid to hug her too tightly. Afraid he might break her. He was afraid that she was going to fade away in front of him and he wouldn't be able to stop it. It shattered his heart to think that she wouldn't eat and when she did it usually didn't stay down. But what scared Bracken the most wasn't the lost weight or the bruise like bags under her eyes, it wasn't even the fact that her blinding brilliance had dimmed significantly. No, what scared Bracken most was the silence. The heartbreaking silence and the empty look in her previously bright happy green eyes. Bracken used to love to stare into her beautiful green eyes as they lit up with happiness and excitement, or danced with humor and amusement, even when they would occasionally glint with mischievousness. Now it seemed the only emotions those green eyes held was a deep sadness and fear. And the silence, the silence was crushing. The only time, even a hint of Kendra's voice was revealed was through shrill, heartbreaking, terrified screams. Her nightmares had always been bad, but now they shook her to the core. The screaming was hard, but the silence was harder. No matter what anyone tried Kendra had remained silent. When he had returned, she had stood stunned for more than a minute. In fact, she didn't move at all until he had said her name. He remembered the way she held onto him like a lifeline. He remembered wondering why life had to be so cruel to such an amazing girl. Since his return, he had been doing everything in his power to pull Kendra out of her depression. He was determined to get her back. He knew it would take awhile, but the past few weeks had been filled with so many milestones that he hoped they were coming towards the end of the tunnel. Which is why Bracken was currently rushing through the hallways. With today being the day it was he was afraid that the progress they had made would be lost. Bracken into Kendra's room, relieved when he found her lying on her bed. The room was dark, but Kendra's light, despite the abnormal dimness, kept it from being pitch black. Quietly he walked to her bed and sat beside her putting a hand on her fragile back.

"Hey," he whispered, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear, causing her to look at him with her sad, watery green eyes. "How you holding up princess?" He asked gently. Fresh tears poured down her frail cheeks in response. Slowly he moved into a laying position, allowing her to cuddle up to him. That was the one thing that had remained the same, was Kendra' love of cuddles.

"It's ok to miss him, Kendra, its ok to be upset. But you also have to remember that, Seth is alive. I know right now things seem hopeless. Well, I don't know exactly, but I do understand hopelessness. What you have to remember there is that, hopelessness is merely an emotion and right now is merely a moment. What we have to do when we feel hopelessness overtake us is live in the knowledge that we feel it in a moment and like every moment it passes. We just have to allow that moment to pass just like the others. Don't be afraid to feel hopeless, or sad, or even scared. For these are just emotions. It is ok to feel emotions becuase it reminds us that we are alive and healthy. What we need to focus on is the fact that emotions are reactions not reality. " By the time he had finished his speech Kendra's tears had dried and her body had relaxed.

"Now what do you say we take a little adventure to make this moment pass a little faster?" He asked looking down at the small fairykind. He could see the debate in her eyes before she finally nodded her head. He gave her a bright smile before standing up and helping her do the same. He kept an arm around her as her weakened body adjusted to the different position. Slowly he began to lead her through the hallways towards one of the towers of the keep.

" You see I would have been in there to check on you sooner, but I had something I wanted to set up first." Bracken said once they had climbed to the top of the tower. He gently opened the door and turned to see Kendra's reaction to the sight before them. Kendra gasped and slowly brought a hand up to cover her mouth, eyes glistening with tears once more. Sitting before them was an intricate blanket fort with fairy lights surrounding it looking towards the setting sun. However the beautiful wasn't what had caused her reaction. The reaction was caused by the boy with messy, brown hair seated in the center of it all.

"Hey, sis." Seth said quietly as he stood up. There was a noticeable change in height, build, and muscle, but it was still Seth. His much deeper voice still held its hint of carefree humor and confidence. His chocolate brown eyes still held a mischievous glint. Seth awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

" I've really mi-woah" he finished as Kendra slammed full force into her brother. Bracken watched as the sibling clung to one another reminding each other they were safe. Quietly Bracken turned to leave the pair to catch up on the two years they had lost.

"Wait!" Bracken stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned around at the sound tears of joy filling his eyes. The voice was rough, quiet, scrathy from unuse but it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Kendra walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything. Thanks for putting up with me and bringing Seth home, memories and all. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I love you. " Tears were pouring down Bracken's face when Kendra finished and he couldn't stop himself when he swooped down to press his lips to hers.

" EW! Dude! That's my sister! Seriously, how long have I been gone?" Seth yelled dramatically bringing some humor to the situation. Kendra pulled away as she blushed and began to laugh for the first time in two years. Her laughter was contagious and soon they were all clutching their side in laughter. Eventually Bracken left, allowing the two siblings to catch up on some much needed sibling time. As he returned to his room, he felt a weight lift off his chest. He knew this was from the end. Ronodin was still out there, Celebrant wasn't finished, but for at least a moment things were looking up.

 **Hey guys so I really tried to keep this from ending up as fluff for you people that adore angst but I couldn't do it. I really tried to not bring Seth back but again i couldn't do it. Oh well. Sorry this is probably really bad but here it is**


	12. Chapter 12

Kendra was tired. No Kendra was exhausted. The crying was constant. Crying was actually the wrong word, it was more like screaming. Heartbreaking screams of pain that came from the mouth of her 7 month old daughter. And truthfully, if it didn't stop soon, Kendra was gonna cry too. She hated this. Hated that her baby was in pain and she couldn't help her. She had been fairly warned about this. About the stage of, life that parents dread. The stage where her sweet, happy, easy baby girl turned into a screaming, unhappy child. Teething. Kendra had tried everything. Children numbing gel, cold toys, ice, she had even gone as far as to ask Tanu if he had anything that would help, but the crying continued. And Kendra would pace back and forth, she bounced up and down, she rocked, she read, she sang, but nothing seemed to cease the constant cry. Kendra was at a loss.

So there she was in Adalynns nursery once again, trying, and failing to calm her distressed daughter.

"Shh. Sweetheart, its ok. I'm here. Please stop crying love bug. " She said, mostly to herself, for what seemed like the millionth time. As the crying continued, Kendra felt tears prick at her own eyes. She felt horrible that she couldn't stop this. What kind of mother was she? A stray tear trickled down her cheek, despite her attempts to push them back. Suddenly a deep, gentle startled her out of her thoughts as it said.

"Well, I will say this is not exactly what I was hoping for." Jerking her head towards the noise Kendra found her husband, in all his glory, leaning against the doorway of the nursery a bit of a smile on his face, His silvery blue eyes sparkling in the light. He moved a bit of his silvery hair, that was in desperate need of a trim, out of his face as he pushed the doorway and closed the distance between them.

" So what has got both of my beautiful girls so upset?" Bracken asked softly as he looked between them. Having dealt with it herself up to this point it took Kendra all of two seconds to him up to him

" I don't know what to do anymore! I've tried everything and nothing seems to work." She said, eyes glistening with tears again. Bracken looked at her sadly for a minute before replying.

" Alright, my turn. " He gently took Adalynn from her as he kissed her temple. Guilt washed over her at the thought that Bracken had spent all day working in the fairy realm and still came home and helped her meanwhile she couldn't handle the one job she was given.

" You've been doing it all day today and all night last night, you need a break love. He said as if was reading her mind. " Go take a warm bath and relax for a bit. "

"But-"

"No buts. Go relax. You're not a bad mother, all babies are fussy around this time of their lives, you're not doing something wrong. You shouldn't feel bad for leaving me because it is my job to take care of both my princesses." He said, addressing and soothing each worry. Slowly Kendra nodded, kissing Bracken's cheek before turning to leave the room.

"Bracken?" Kendra asked quietly causing the unicorn to look up from where he was holding their child, " I love you."

"I love you too gorgeous." He said, smiling brilliantly at her. Yes, Kendra was tired, and yes Kendra really wasn't sure what to do, but she had Bracken and they were going to figure it out


	13. Chapter 13

_**Quick idea I had when I was writing some Christmas one shots. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile my school does semester long classes and finals are absolutely horrible but here it is anyway.**_

 _ **Sleep**_

Kendra looked up from her book at the sound of keys jingling in the lock of the cabin. She remembered insisting they didn't need a lock on the door when living in the woods of Fablehaven but Bracken, being the overprotective person that he was, had put one in any way. Truthfully, though she was too stubborn to admit it, Kendra was thankful to have it as an extra measure of protection. Closing her book, Kendra smiled as she slid off the couch and walked over to the door just as Bracken unlocked it. Her smile quickly faded to a frown of concern as she looked at her husband. Bracken was a sight. Truthfully, after all the long hours he had pulled, she had expected it, but never to this extent. He looked absolutely spent, and he swayed in a way that suggested he could fall over and sleep at any moment. However, despite all this, he looked amazing. His silver hair was messy from running his fingers through it, giving him a roguishly handsome look and his cloudy, sleepy, Blue eyes gave him an almost endearing look. She hated it when he did this. Worked himself this hard. However, whatever anger she had melted when he stumbled toward her and pulled him in a hug, kissing the top of her head.

" Hey princess, it's late, I appreciate you waiting up for me, but you really don't have to stay up this late. I know you're tired." Bracken said in a low, slow voice. Trying, and failing to hide his own exhaustion.

" I am tired." Kendra admitted pulling back to look him in the eyes. He smiled lovingly down at her as he stared through half kissed tired eyes. , " But so are you. You can't keep working yourself like this. Your Mother will understand."

" I know there's just so much work to do and not a lot of time to accomplish it. The fairy realm has to be perfect by next solstice for the gala." Bracken explained, untucking his shirt as he walked to sit on the couch. However, the poor exhausted unicorn missed the edge of the couch, ending up sitting on the floor. He groaned too exhausted to get up, allowing his head to roll back and rest on the couch. Kendra tried her best to stifle the giggle that rose in her throat. Upon hearing the giggle Bracken fixed her with a playful glare.

" It's not funny." He replied, trying and failing to hide the smile that graced his lips and swallow his own laugh that rose up in his throat. Kendra knew he hated the fact that he was unable to keep a poker face even if it was just her at the moment. Kendra walked over to the couch sitting on the spot above Bracken as she picked up his head and set it in her lap beginning to play with his hair. Bracken's eyes fluttered shut as he sighed in content.

" The Gala is still a few weeks away and the fairy realm looked amazing when I last saw it. " Kendra said quietly, trying to soothe his worries as easily as he soothes her. The Winter Gala was like a Fairy Realm New Year and Christmas all wrapped into one. It was held four days after Christmas. This was a huge event and it was also the first time Bracken had been put in charge of it. He spent the entirety of his day decorating, rebuilding, and touching up 'rougher' parts of the fairy realm. Truthfully Kendra didn't think much more work needed to be done but Bracken had proven to be a 'Go big or go home ' kind of person. In his eyes nothing was down until it was extravagant, perfect, and everyone was happy.

" It may be a few weeks before the Gala but it's only two weeks before the winter solstice and that's when people start arriving. " Bracken replied and Kendra sighed, knowing that it was true. Creatures of light from all over would begin arriving after the solstice, some even a few days before and would stay until after the Gala had passed. Putting endless amounts of pressure on the preparations crew as they rushed to find places for them to stay, prepare meal plans and menus, and if course decorate the Fairy Realm itself.

" Well, either way, I was there yesterday and it looks beyond amazing." Kendra said not exaggerating. The Lights and decorations beat even the shows in New York. The beauty of the Fairy Realm never failed to amaze her, but this time of year was especially beautiful. It was made even more so by Bracken's careful planning and design. Bracken cracked open his eyes, giving her a rueful smile.

" No offense sweetheart, but most of the people coming to the Gala aren't nearly as easy to impress. They expect bigger and better all the time. "

Unfortunately Kendra couldn't disagree with that. While not all the creatures felt entitled to the best, most did and It put unnecessary pressure on everyone involved. So instead of replying Kendra let her hands slide down to Bracken's shoulders and rub at the tension there. Bracken shifted, sitting up somewhat to allow her better access to the knots. She didn't know how long they sat like that with the only sounds being the rustle of his shirt as she kneaded at his back and the crackling of the fire, but eventually Bracken slowly stood up, sleep clear in his eyes, as he reached for her hand and gently pulled her up from the couch. Slowly they made their way to their bedroom. Kendra watched in mix of concern and amusement as Bracken stumbled over to their bed somehow managing not to trip, as he collapsed on the bed almost instantly starting to snore slightly. All of his usual grace and coordination, gone. Kendra walked over and pulled the blankets over her sleeping husband before crawling in on the other side. As she settled she felt Bracken's strong arm wrap around her pulling her close and his lips kiss the top of her head despite his exhaustion. Kendra smiled. While she hated that Bracken worked himself so hard, she did have to admit that sleepy Bracken was one of her favorites.

 _ **Again sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I should have some Christmas one shots out here soon and after everything calms down after the holidays I should be able to update more often. So we'll see!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Thunderstorms**

It was a well-known fact, to anyone that knew him well, that not much could wake Bracken when he finally fell asleep. In fact, only two things were known to wake him up quickly, his wife and his children. He was known to be fiercely protective of both, and he wasn't about to let something as trivial as sleep, get in the way of that. On most nights Bracken Would have awoken and been out of bed the instant the pitter patter of those little feet reached his ears. So when a small hand pressed against his arm followed by a small, heartbreaking sniffle, Bracken was, in all honesty, a little alarmed that he hadn't noticed anything sooner. He quickly jerked awake turning to his left to spot the small four-year old in front of him. His small, emerald green, eyes widening with panic at his father's sudden movement.

"Alec, what are you doing buddy? You ok?" Bracken asked gently, feeling bad that he had scared him. Alec's face scrunched up adorably as a debate seemed to rage in his little mind.

"Firsty." He seemed to finally decide quietly. Bracken raised an eyebrow, seeing right through the little white lie.

"You're thirsty?" Bracken asked, wanting to see if his son would realize he'd been caught. The four-year old slowly, bit his lip before nodding hesitantly. Raising his eyebrow once more, Bracken stared down at the small child as he clung tighter to the small stuffed puppy Seth had once gotten him. Running a hand over his face, Bracken slowly climbed out of the warm bed, hissing as his feet hit the cold floor.

" Well lets see if we can fix that." He whispered picking Alec up and carrying him toward the kitchen. Alec clung to him in a death grip as he buried his face in Bracken's neck. It was then that Bracken finally heard the low rumble coming from outside, followed by a quick flash of light causing Alec to whimper. Bracken couldn't help but smile. Alec was going through the stage of being determined to be a 'big boy'. And according to him, big boys didn't get scared. Bracken held his son a little closer as he reached to flip the kitchen lights on.

" Are you scared buddy?" Bracken couldn't help but ask softly as another roll of thunder sent the four-year-old sniffling once more. Alec pulled back stubbornly, crossing his arms as Bracken set him on the counter.

"No! Firsty!" He insisted fiercely, despite his red rimmed eyes.

"Oh ok, my bad." Bracken replied, reaching for a cup "I must have forgotten."

"Swilly daddy." He giggled watching his father intently as he filled the cup half full of water and handed it to him.

"Both hands, don't spill it buddy." Bracken said studying his son as he timidly sipped the water. His bright green eyes still alight with fear. He had inherited his expressive eyes from his mother. Bracken loved to watch them change as Alec grew and learned but the fear in them now broke his heart. Another roll of thunder caused the four-year old to jump and a small amount of water to fall over the edge of the cup. The small boy stared at the wet patch before lifting watery eyes toward his father.

"I'm sworry daddy. I didn't mean to make a mess." Alec said lower lip trembling. Bracken immediately scooped his son up into his arms and cradled him to his chest.

"It's ok buddy. Don't worry about it."

" But I made a mwess." He sniffled.

" Yes but this is a mess we can clean up. The only mess's daddy worries about are the ones he can't clean up." Bracken said, kissing the top of his son's head. He picked up the forgotten cup and placed it in the sink before turning and heading back to his bedroom.

"Are you tired buddy?" Bracken asked noticing Alec had been quiet for a while. Alec nodded sleepily thunderstorm forgotten. " Want to go back to your bed?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"I stay with daddy"Alec replied, snuggling deeper into his arms. Bracken nodded and nudged the door to his bedroom open. He couldn't help but marvel at his now sleeping son as he lay him down. He marveled at how much Alec trusted him that simply his presence could make it better. Bracken couldn't keep the smile off his face as he stared down at the miracle snuggling in his arms. The child everyone said was impossible. Fatherhood was without a doubt one of the best things that had ever happened to him, and he wasn't about to let something as trivial as sleep get in the way of that.

 _ **Sorry it's short this is a random idea that came to me while writing another prompt. I'm working on a new multi chap. here soon called The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly. That I'm really excited about so be on the look out!**_


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